Amgen at 52-week high on solid earnings, test results. (Corporate Focus).WITH its stock hovering around its 52-week high in recent weeks, Amgen Inc. appears poised for another quarter of solid earnings and high volume of sales of its rheumatoid arthritis rheumatoid arthritis Chronic, progressive autoimmune disease causing connective-tissue inflammation, mostly in synovial joints. It can occur at any age, is more common in women, and has an unpredictable course. drugs. It may sound like old hat to Wall Street, but it was just last fall when things were not so rosy for the Thousand Oaks-based biotech. Just after the company acquired Immunex in May 2002 for $10 billion in cash and stock (which resulted in a onetime $3 billion charge for the year), Amgen bosses were already anticipating big sales from Immunex's new anti-inflammatory drug, Enbrel. But instead of the $350 million to $400 million Arugen had projected for the quarter ending Sept. 30, the drug brought in $158 million amid production shortages and supply problems. "It seemed to be the cap on a lot of other things that weren't going Amgen's way," said Craig West of AG Edwards. Just a year earlier, the prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. drug, Plenaxis that it was developing jointly with Praecis Pharmaceuticals was rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That was followed by unsuccessful clinical trials for a Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. drug it was developing with Baltimore-based Guilford Pharmaceuticals. The news of Plenaxis' failure was especially bad since Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston was originally the trading name of the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston, a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture formed in 1978 between the First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse. forecast sales for the drug of $215 million in its first year. That was then. Today, Amgen is buoyed by early test results of the anti-anemia drug Aranesp, showing its efficacy in treating lymphoid lymphoid /lym·phoid/ (lim´foid) resembling or pertaining to lymph or tissue of the lymphoid system. lym·phoid adj. Of or relating to lymph or the lymphatic tissue where lymphocytes are formed. cancer patients. The results showed that three times as many anemic patients with lymphoid cancers receiving Aranesp experienced increases in hemoglobin levels compared to those who took a placebo. The significance is that Aranesp would help chemotherapy patients since hemoglobin in their blood is reduced significantly by the anticancer treatment. "These results show real promise for the cancer therapy market," said Adam Walsh, an analyst for Jefferies & Co. Successful study Likewise, a Phase 3 study showed Enbrel, a rheumatoid arthritis drug marketed by Amgen and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, inhibited the progression of joint damage and reduced symptoms when it was combined with the anti-cancer drug, Methotrexate methotrexate, drug used in halting the growth of actively proliferating tissues. Introduced in the 1950s, it is used in the treatment of leukemia, psoriasis, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. . The news was followed by word that early results from Phase 2 trials from its experimental cancer drug ABX-EGF showed that it is able to reduce tumors in patients with advanced colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. . "After seeing positive numbers last quarter and good early results for these new drugs, it's looking good for future earnings," Walsh said. For the quarter ended March 31, Amgen reported a 45 percent profit increase over the same period a year ago. The company posted $493.3 million in net income or $0.37 a share on $1.76 billion in revenue compared to $341 million in net income or $0.32 a share on $1 billion in revenue. The product sales increase of about 80 percent for the quarter was due mostly to the July acquisition of Immunex which manufactures Enbrel. But higher sales of the anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp, along with the immune-boosting drugs Neupogen and Neulasta also contributed to the sales jump, the company said. Improved manufacturing capacity of Enbrel after a Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. plant went on line late fall, gave that drug's sales a boost with $274 million in sales. Looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. approval Walsh said the anti-inflammatory drug could also do well as a treatment for psoriasis. "Given our strong trends, we are raising sales and earnings guidance for the year," said Amgen Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Kevin Sharer in a statement. He added that the new guidance was raised to reflect $200 million in anticipated sales of Neulasta and Aranesp. Amgen has raised by 5 percent its 2003 earnings per share forecast to between $1.80 and $1.90 while forecasting a 52 percent sales increase for the year. On news of the Enbrel and Aranesp studies, the company's shares rose $2.50 to $67.50 last Monday and reaching its 52-week high last Tuesday Last Tuesday is a Christian melodic punk rock band hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They played their final show on March 10th, 2007. Last Tuesday was formed in 1999 in Harrisburg, P.A. at $67.55 before dropping to $63.82 on Thursday. The stock's 52-week low was $30.57, reached on July 15. Amgen's shares had been improving after the company agreed in May to take an estimated 20 percent stake in South San Francisco-based Tularik Inc. which is jointly developing anti-cancer drugs with Amgen. [GRAPH OMITTED] [GRAPH OMITTED] Amgen Inc. YEAR (Dec. 31) 2002 2001 Revenue (millions) $5,523 $4,016 Operating Expenses (millions) 2,778 1,849 Operating Income (millions) 2,009 1,723 Net Income (millions) (1,392) 1,120 Earnings Per Share (1.2) 1.3 RELATED ARTICLE: SUMMARY Business: Maker of drugs and therapeutic prod. Headquarters: Thousand Oaks CEO: Kevin Sharer Market Cap: $82.3 billion Dividend Yield: N/A * Total Liabilities: $6.1 billion P/E P/E See: Price/earnings ratio : 42.8 Long-Term Debt Long-Term Debt Loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Notes: For example debts obligations such as bonds and notes which have maturities greater than one year would be considered long-term debt. : $3.1 billion * Company does not pay dividends |
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