Amgen Stock Remains In Limbo As Its Biggest Product Flounders

Amgen (AMGN) reported soaring fourth-quarter earnings Monday, but sales didn’t inch up enough to top Wall Street’s expectations — leaving Amgen stock in limbo.

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During the fourth quarter, Amgen earned $4.36 per share, minus some items, on $6.85 billion in sales. Earnings rocketed 26% and easily beat expectations for $4.04 per share. But sales rose just 3%, not enough to beat projections for $6.87 billion.

The best growth came from Amgen’s Evenity, an osteoporosis treatment. Sales surged 59% year over year to $143 million.

But sales from Amgen’s biggest moneymaker, Enbrel, declined 13% to $1.11 billion. Enbrel treats autoimmune conditions. Amgen blamed lower net selling price and lower inventory for the dip. It also noted another of its own drugs, Otezla, gained Food and Drug Administration approval for plaque psoriasis, chipping away at Enbrel sales.

At the close, Amgen stock rose a fraction to finish at 223.53, where they remained unchanged after the post-session earnings release. Amgen stock is sitting on a floor at its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSmith.com.

Amgen Stock: Prolia, Repatha Climb

Among Amgen’s bigger products, sales of osteoporosis treatment Prolia rose 17% to $873 million and revenue from cholesterol treatment Repatha inched 8% ahead to $273 million. But Aimovig, its migraine prevention drug, brought in just $90 million, falling 13% year over year.

Meanwhile, sales of bone marrow-stimulating drugs Neulasta and Neupogen tumbled 35% and 33%, respectively. Both are facing off against biosimilar competition.

Amgen didn’t provide guidance for 2022, instead saying it will do so at its business review early Tuesday. For the year, Amgen stock analysts expect $17.67 earnings per share and $26.92 billion in sales.

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.

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