RATING DIPS ON AMGEN STOCKS ANALYST CITES RIVAL'S EFFORTS.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer THOUSAND OAKS Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. - Shares of Amgen Inc. aren't expected to perform quite as well as they have in the past as Swiss rival Roche presses ahead with research on a competing product, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an analysis released Friday by Wachovia Securities Wachovia Securities, located in Richmond, Virginia (soon to be moved to St. Louis), is the third largest brokerage firm in the United States as of 2006 with $689 billion retail client assets under management. It is a subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation. . The brokerage group downgraded Amgen shares to ``market perform'' from ``outperform,'' citing ``long-term concerns regarding the growth rate'' of the company's ``anemia franchise.'' Wachovia said Roche's anemia-fighting product, which is pending approval from U.S. regulators, could be ``a potentially strong competitor to Amgen's Aranesp.'' Amgen shares declined $1.11 to close at $68.89 Friday on the Nasdaq market. Roche is in the process of developing CERA - Continuous Erythropoiesis erythropoiesis /eryth·ro·poi·e·sis/ (-poi-e´sis) the formation of erythrocytes.erythropoiet´ic e·ryth·ro·poi·e·sis n. The formation or production of red blood cells. Receptor Activator. Though a seemingly imminent threat Imminent threat is a standard criterion in international law, developed by Daniel Webster, for when the need for action is "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation. for Amgen, analysts say the drug's approval isn't expected for two to three years. Even so, ``Amgen has made its fortune on monopoly sales and a little competition isn't healthy for the company,'' said Stefan Loren, an analyst with Legg Mason. `'We cited this competition six months ago - Roche is going for market share in America and Europe.'' Other analysts completely disregarded Wachovia's analysis. Jennifer Chao, analyst with RBC Capital Markets RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking division of Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC"). Broker dealers Depending on the jurisdiction, the division uses different broker dealer subsidiaries of RBC:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , said Amgen shares are currently hovering at a 20 percent discount and that releasing such information is unjustified ahead of the company's third quarter. ``I would take a totally different stance and read this 180 degrees the other way,'' she said. ``We're anticipating that Amgen will have very strong third-quarter results. I think some of the concerns cited by the competitor (Wachovia) are somewhat unfounded.'' Wachovia noted several other possible risks to Amgen's growth potential in the next three to five years, including domestic pricing pressure from Johnson and Johnson, European patent expirations, dilutive acquisitions and Medicare reimbursement changes for injectable drugs. The securities company also said it doesn't expect Amgen to produce any blockbuster drugs in the near-term. Evan Pondel, (818) 713-3662 evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion