NEW YORK (AP) — A William Blair & Co. analyst upgraded shares of Botox maker Allergan Inc. Monday, citing the company’s latest quarterly results and outlook. On Friday, Allergan said its second-quarter profit jumped 23 percent on lower costs, despite a dip in sales of the company’s cosmetic and eye care products. The results topped Wall Street forecasts. For the full year, the company expects adjusted profit between $2.71 and $2.75 per share on revenue between $4.2 billion and $4.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect full-year profit of $2.71 on revenue of $4.23 billion. Analyst Ben Andrew upgraded the stock to “Outperform” from “Market Perform” and expects the company’s eye care, medical device, and Botox units to perform well during the year. “Through this economic downturn, Allergan’s management team has retooled its operating expense structure and has entered a new era,” he wrote in a note to investors. “Uncertainties remain, and these include timing for new product approvals, competitive impact on Botox, sales impact from generic launches, and the timing of an economic recovery,” he added. “However, we feel confident management has the capabilities to work through these transitional issues, as demonstrated by the better-than-expected operating results in the past couple quarters amid the economic downturn.”
