Investing.com -- Shares in Gilead Sciences Inc (O:GILD) fell nearly 2% in after-hours trading even as the prominent pharmaceutical company beat analysts' revenue and earnings forecasts on Tuesday for the third quarter of 2015.
During the third quarter of fiscal year 2015, Gilead saw its revenue surge by 38% to $8.3 billion, considerably above analysts' forecasts of net sales of $7.8 billion for the period. It came as the company's revenues for its two Hepatitis C drugs – Harvoni and Solvadi – reached $4.8 billion on the quarter, above analysts' expectations of $4.47 billion. Sales for Solvadi exceeded $1.45 billion for the three-month period, also above forecasts of $1.16 billion.
Overall, Gilead reported earnings of $4.6 billion or 3.06 per share for the third quarter, up from quarterly earnings of $2.73 billion or 1.67 per share over the third quarter of 2014. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of 2.87 per share for the quarter.
In addition, Gilead reported other product sales, which included revenues from its Letairis and Ranexa drugs and AmBisome,, an amphotericin B liposome injection, of $509 million, compared to $424 million for the third quarter of 2014. As of late September, Gilead also had $25.1 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities compared to $14.7 billion at the start of the quarter, primarily due to issuance of senior unsecured notes last month.
While Gilead raised its full-year guidance by $1 billion on Tuesday, analysts remained concerned that increased competition from rivals such as AbbVie in the Hepatitis C prescription drug market could dent sales. Still, Gilead expects full-year revenues to fall within a range of $30-$31 billion for 2015.
Shares in Gilead fell 2.13 or 1.92% to 108.88 in after-hours. During the general session, Gilead shares gained 2.36 or 2.17% to 110.99.