3 major pharmaceutical companies have just claimed to have earned their salary – here's how they did it

The shares of pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Merck grew by more than 1% in trading before issuance after the publication of first quarter financial results higher than Wall Street expectations.

However, the shares of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly dropped 3.0% after posting higher first-quarter earnings than expected but lacking in revenue. Sales of two of Eli Lilly's key drugs, Trulicity and Alimta, were lower than Wall Street forecasts. Merck's revenues have increased slightly thanks to the sale of vaccines among the most serious measles epidemic since the eradication of the disease, Keytruda, the American anti-cancer immunotherapy drug.

Health care has been the worst-performing sector of the stock market this year due to concerns over drug price reform and the "public system for all" proposals of Democratic legislators. The selected healthcare sector SPDR fund, an ETF that tracks the largest companies in the health care sector, grew by only 2.7% on Monday, which is significantly lower than the market indices more general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 13% over the same period and the S & P 500 up 17%.

Eli Lilly said he expects a further drop in US prices this year as well as increased competition from generics. The company's anti-erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis, lost exclusivity last year.

The company is now expecting an annual turnover of between $ 22 billion and $ 22.5 billion, lower than previously forecast, which was $ 25.1 billion to $ 25.6 billion. However, he increased his adjusted earnings guidance for the full year by 5 cents from $ 5.60 to $ 5.70 per share.

Merck reported earnings per share of $ 1.22 in the first quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $ 1.06 per share. Revenues reached $ 10.81 billion, exceeding estimates of $ 10.48 billion.

Merck has raised its earnings forecast for the year. It now expects adjusted earnings per share for the full year ranging from $ 4.67 to $ 4.79. That's higher than its previous forecast of $ 4.57 to $ 4.72.

Pfizer gained 85 cents per share in the first quarter, exceeding Wall Street estimates by 10 cents. The company recorded a turnover of $ 13.12 billion, higher than the forecast of $ 12.99 billion.