AbbVie, the pharmaceuticals business spun off earlier this month by Abbott Laboratories , forecast 2013 earnings in line with Wall Street forecasts but slowing sales growth for Humira, its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug.The company on Wednesday said it expects low double-digit sales growth for Humira this year. Sales of the drug, by far the company's biggest product, jumped 17 percent last year to $9.27 billion."Their Humira growth forecast is a little less than people expected, but our view is that it's a conservative estimate," said Morningstar analyst Damien Conover.Conover said he expects Humira's sales to climb 17 percent in 2013, matching the growth seen in 2012. He noted that Abbott had been known for issuing its own conservative Humira forecasts, with actual growth typically outpacing projections.
Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a range of health care products. Shares of ABT fell by 0.26% or $-0.085/share to $33.24. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $25.83 and as high as $34.69. On average, 14468500 shares of ABT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5452764.
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