First Global Reiterates LT Outperform Rating on Abbott Inc

First Global has published a report on Abbott Inc ABT reviewing the last quarter. In the report, First Global wrote, "Abbott Inc. (ABT) came up with a strong show in Q2 CY11, with the company delivering a sales out performance across all its major businesses and its reported EPS for the quarter moderately surpassing our as well as the consensus expectation by 2 cents and 1 cent respectively. The company's strong performance was driven by a higher than expected growth in Humira and an improvement in the gross margin. The company's reported EPS at $1.13 was also at the high end of management's earlier EPS guidance range for Q2 CY11. Management also raised its EPS guidance range for the full year CY11. ABT's performance was particularly robust in the emerging markets, with sales up 23% Y-o-Y to $2.6 bn, including the impact of the acquisitions. Organic sales grew 4% in the quarter, with the company's key product lines, such as Humira and TriCor/ TriLipix, continuing to record strong sales." First Global rated Abbott an LT Outperform with no price target. Abbott closed Monday at $52.58.