Cheshire drug maker Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its profits shot up 74 percent in the second quarter, thanks to more patients taking its drug Soliris for ultra-rare blood disorders.
Alexion netted $166.5 million, or 83 cents per diluted share, up from $95.9 million, or 48 cents, in the second quarter last year.
Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance had expected earnings of $1.07. Alexion’s stock price fell 3.7 percent as of 11:32 a.m. Thursday.
The year-over-year increase in profits was due to a 38 percent increase in Soliris sales. The drug brought in $512.5 million in revenue, up from $3701.1 million a year prior.
Alexion revised its 2014 revenue guidance upwards to a range of $2.18 billion to $2.20 billion. Its prior expectation had been between $2.15 billion and $2.17 billion.
