NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals climbed Monday after the company forecast strong fourth-quarter sales.

The company said U.S. sales of its antibiotic Cubicin rose 15 percent to $248.9 million, and total revenue grew 22 percent to $299.7 million. FactSet says analysts expected the company to report $237.4 million from U.S. sales of Cubicin and $280.6 million in revenue.

Over the last few months Cubist has acquired Trius Therapeutics and Optimer Pharmaceuticals in deals that were valued at $1.24 billion combined. The deals gave Cubist full control of the antibacterial drug Dificid and several experimental antibiotics.

Shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose $3.60, or 5.1 percent, to $73.61 in afternoon trading. Earlier the stock reached an all-time high of $74.44.