Amgen Tops Wall St. Expectations

Amgen Inc. beat Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday with its second-quarter financial results. The Thousand Oaks biotech reported a net income of $2.15 billion ($2.91 a share), up 15 percent from the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the company rose 2 percent to $5.81 billion. The adjusted earnings for Amgen was $3.27 per share, beating the expectations of analysts surveyed by Zacks, who estimated earnings of $3.09. Some of the best performing drugs in Amgen’s product line were Blincyto, a leukemia drug and Kyprolis, a treatment for multiple myeloma, which is related to tumors in the bone. The sale of those two drugs rose 43 percent and 23 percent, respectively. Epogen, which treats anemia, and Neupogen, a bone marrow stimulant, were among the worst. The two drugs saw 12 percent and 30 percent decrease in sales, respectively. Amgen said total product sales for the company rose 2 percent compared to the same period in 2016. “Our continued solid performance this quarter is yet another indication that we are on track to deliver on our long-term growth objectives,” Amgen Chief Executive Robert A. Bradway said in a statement. “Our newer products are registering strong volume-driven growth globally and we expect their contribution to continue to increase over time, offsetting declines in mature products.” Amgen’s financial results were released after the market closed. Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed Tuesday down 17 cents, or less than a percent, to $180.89 on the Nasdaq.