Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s (TEVA) American depository receipts shot up in after-hours trading on Wednesday, Feb. 14, after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) disclosed an investment in the drugmaker.
Teva’s ADRs were trading at $20.90, up 8%, in after-hours trading. Shares of the struggling drug maker declined 45% in 2017.
Berkshire’s 13F filing released after the market close showed that the company had purchased 18.9 million Teva shares worth a total of $357.695 million in last year’s fourth quarter.
Based on Teva’s 1.015 billion outstanding shares according to FactSet, Berkshire’s shares translate to a 1.86% stake.
News of Berkshire’s investment comes as Teva, like its peers, have experienced pricing pressure for generic drugs in North America. Teva also faces erosion of sales of its branded multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone due to generic competition.
Petach Tikva, Israel-based Teva on Dec. 14 said it plans to cut 14,000 jobs globally — or more than a quarter of its staff — over the next two years as part of restructuring efforts aimed at lowering its total cost base by $3 billion by the end of 2019 from the estimated base of $16.1 billion for 2017.
Teva on Feb. 8 reported fourth-quarter results that surpassed analysts’ top- and bottom-line expectations and issued guidance that came in below estimates. The company reported fourth-quarter non-GAAP EPS of 93 cents, compared with $$1.38 in the same period in 2016. Revenue was down 16% year-over-year to $5.5 billion. Analysts expected adjusted EPS of 77 cents on revenue of $5.29 billion, according to FactSet Research Systems.
