AMGEN STOCK'S SLIDE PERSISTS.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Stock of Amgen fell for the second session in a row in the wake of the biotechnology giant's disclosure that its BDNF BDNF Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor BDNF Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (Montana) drug to treat Lou Gehrig's disease Lou Geh·rig's disease n. See amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. was ineffective in late-stage trials. Amgen fell $2.06 to $53, following a decline of $2.81 on Friday, when the company announced it had halted development of BDNF for subcutaneous subcutaneous /sub·cu·ta·ne·ous/ (sub?ku-ta´ne-us) beneath the skin. sub·cu·ta·ne·ous adj. Abbr. s.c., SQ Located, found, or placed just beneath the skin; hypodermic. delivery. The issue has lost 8.4 percent of its value in the two sessions and is 20 percent below its 52-week high of $66.50. If the drug had worked, it could have been a blockbuster for Thousand Oaks-based Amgen, the world's largest biotech bi·o·tech n. Informal Biotechnology. biotech Noun short for biotechnology Noun 1. company. Annual revenues from treatments for the nerve disorder could have run as high as $500 million. A trio of analysts cut ratings Monday. It was downgraded to long-term ``attractive'' from ``buy'' by analyst Ed Hurwitz at Robertson, Stephens & Co. The 1997 earnings estimate was cut to $2.79 from $2.85 and the 1998 earnings estimate was cut to $3.11 from $3.30. The issue was was downgraded to short-term ``hold'' from short-term ``buy'' by analyst Robert M. Leboyer at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Meirav Chovav at Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers was a Wall Street investment bank. downgraded Amgen to ``buy'' from ``strong buy.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion