1133 GMT - AstraZeneca is among the most mentioned companies across news items over the past four hours, according to Factiva data. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker hiked its forecasts for core earnings per share and total revenue for the year as soaring cancer medicine sales offset plummeting coronavirus vaccine sales. AstraZeneca's third-quarter revenue largely met market expectations, rising 5% to $11.49 billion, compared to a $11.56 billion forecast by 12 analysts taken from FactSet. The higher sales in the oncology division--which accounts for 40% of company revenue--offset a 65% drop to $312 million in sales from the vaccine and immune therapies division, due to sharp declines in demand for coronavirus vaccines. The company also separately said it has entered a $2 billion exclusive agreement with Eccogene, licensing its ECC5004 product for treating conditions such as type-2 diabetes and obesity. "[AstraZeneca's] latest update will build confidence the company can sustain its recent momentum and reclaim its position as the largest company on the FTSE 100 from energy giant Shell," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a market comment. Shares at 1125 GMT were up 282.0 pence, or 2.8% at 10,452.0 pence. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2023 06:48 ET (11:48 GMT)

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