UPDATE 3-Medco profit rises 22 pct, beats estimates

(Adds share activity, Medco comments, byline)

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Medco Health Solutions Inc (MHS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 22 percent increase in quarterly profit on Thursday, beating estimates, as the pharmacy benefit manager dispensed more generic drugs and handled more home-delivery prescriptions.

The company, whose shares rose 1.9 percent, also bumped up its full-year forecast.

Second-quarter net income rose to $262.7 million, or 51 cents per share, from $214.9 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Medco earned 56 cents per share, 2 cents ahead of the average estimate of analysts, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 16 percent to $12.77 billion.

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug benefits for employers and health plans and operate large mail-order pharmacies, have profited from low-cost generic versions of popular drugs.

"Another impressive set of quarterly results from Medco affirms our view that PBMs are among the best-positioned groups within our coverage universe to flourish in a weak U.S. economy," Morgan Stanley analyst David Veal said in a research note.