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Traders work beneath monitors displaying Eli Lilly & Co. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Monday, May 23, 2016.
Shares of Eli Lilly surged nearly 7 percent Tuesday after the pharmaceutical company surpassed second-quarter estimates and announced it would file an initial public offering for its animal health unit public.
In the quarter, Eli Lilly reported a net loss of $259.9 million, or 25 cents per share. After stripping special items like charges related to business development transactions, Lilly earned $1.55 billion, or $1.50 per share, eclipsing estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters of $1.30 per share.
In the year-ago quarter, Lilly's net income was $1.01 billion, or 95 cents per share.
Lilly posted revenue of $6.36 billion, up 9 percent from the year-ago quarter and above estimates of $6.05 billion.
Investors welcomed Lilly's decision to file an initial public offering for its Elanco animal health unit and take less than a 20 percent stake in the new company. The unit's sluggish sales had weighed on Lilly in previous quarters, prompting Lilly to perform a strategic review.
Lilly hiked its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to between $5.40 and $5.50 a share, up from the previous range of between $5.10 to $5.20.
