Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMGN) is scheduled to release its third quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, October 21, 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of $1.27 per share on revenue of $3.78 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of $1.49 per share on revenue of $3.81 billion.
Amgen Inc., a biotechnology medicines company, discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology primarily in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company markets primarily recombinant protein therapeutics in supportive cancer care, nephrology, and inflammation. Its principal products include Aranesp and EPOGEN erythropoietic-stimulating agents that stimulate the production of red blood cells; Neulasta and NEUPOGEN, which selectively stimulate the production of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections; and Enbrel, an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor that plays a role in the body's response to inflammatory diseases.
In the preceding second quarter, the Thousand Oaks, California-based company's net income was $1.2 billion, or $1.25 a share, compared to $1.3 billion, or $1.25, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.38 a share in the second quarter. Revenue increased to $3.8 billion from $3.7 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $1.29 on revenue of $3.76 billion.
At its last earnings call in July, the company said that as a result of the weaker Euro, it now expects revenues to be slightly below $15.1 billion versus previous guidance towards the lower end of the range of $15.1 billion to $15.5 billion. Adjusted EPS guidance remains unchanged at towards the lower end of the range of $5.05 to $5.25. Included in the 2010 revenue and adjusted EPS guidance above is the estimated impact of the U.S. Health Care Reform Legislation of $200 million to $250 million.
In July, the biotechnology company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review designation to denosumab, a subcutaneous RANK Ligand inhibitor, for the treatment of bone cancers to reduce skeletal related events in patients with cancer. Priority review designation is granted to drugs that offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists.
In August, Amgen said that a Phase 3 trial evaluating its investigational monoclonal antibody Vectibix as a first-line treatment in patients with head and neck cancer failed to achieve the primary endpoint.
Early in October, the company announced results from the PRIME '203' and '181' pivotal Phase 3 trials evaluating Vectibix in combination with chemotherapy as a first and second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer or mCRC, respectively. The results of both studies demonstrated that Vectibix administered with chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with wild-type KRAS mCRC.
Among other developments, Amgen recently announced the voluntary nationwide recall of certain lots of Epogen and Procript vials due to the possible presence of thin glass flakes in the vials.
In terms of stock performance, Amgen shares have lost nearly 2 percent since the beginning of the year.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
