Market Currents

• Tuesday, December 22, 2009

• 10:23 AM Winners in the Senate healthcare reform:
  - Drug and device makers (PFE, MRK, BSX, MDT)
  - Hospitals (UHS, THC)
  - Biologics (AMGN)
  - Cosmetics (JNJ, AGN)
  - Home healthcare providers (AMED, ADUS, GTIV)
  Losers:
  - Health insurers (WLP, UNH, AET)
  - Generic drugmakers
  - Pharmacy benefit managers (MHS, CVS, ESRX)
  - Nursing homes (SKH, KND) 13 Comments

• Monday, December 7, 2009

• 09:08 AM Amgen (AMGN) approves another $5B in share buybacks, additive to its current $1.2B. "This new authorization reflects Amgen's confidence in its long-term prospects." Shares +0.5% premarket. (PR) Comment!

• Friday, October 30, 2009

• 14:06 PM Fourteen states and the District of Columbia sue Amgen (AMGN -1.2%), charging the company with offering kickbacks to push sales of anemia drug Aranesp. 1 Comment

• Wednesday, October 21, 2009

• 16:14 PM Amgen (AMGN): Q3 EPS of $1.49 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $3.8B (-2%) in-line. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $4.90-5.05 from $4.80-4.95, vs. $4.88. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR) Comment!
• 00:10 AM Notable post-market earnings: ADS, AMGN, AMP, CTXS, CVA, EBAY, EFX, FFIV, FIS, FNF, ISIL, KNX, LOGI, LRCX, NE, NFX, NVLS, OSIP, PTV, QLGC, RRC, SKX, TEX, TQNT, VMW Comment!

• Sunday, October 18, 2009

• 02:55 AM Pfizer's (PFE) experimental oral rheumatoid arthritis drug was effective both as a standalone and in combination with standard treatments, a final analysis of data from mid-stage studies shows. "People should be extremely excited about it," lead researcher Dr. Roy Fleischmann says, noting it should be cheaper than current biotech solutions like Abbott's (ABT) Humira and Amgen's (AMGN) Enbrel. Comment!

• Monday, September 21, 2009

• 09:17 AM Amgen's (AMGN +2% premarket) Phase III trial of its under-the-skin osteoporosis drug denosumab delayed skeletal-related events (fractures etc.) for 20.6 months vs. 16.3 months for intravenously-injected rival Zometa (NVS -1%). (PR) Comment!

• Friday, September 18, 2009

• 10:55 AM Roche (RHBBY.PK) is conceding defeat in its patent battle with Amgen (AMGN) over anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp, court filings show. Comment!

• Sunday, September 6, 2009

• 07:01 AM Amgen (AMGN) is working on a promising bone-loss treatment called denosumab. If, as expected, the treatment gets FDA approval, Barron's Dimitra Defotis explains how the stock could climb from a recent $58.95 to $78. 1 Comment

• Friday, August 14, 2009

• 12:53 PM Analysts say Thursday's FDA panel on Amgen's (AMGN) experimental bone drug denosumab was surprisingly cautious, pointing to a more modest adoption than expected. The panel voted in favor of using the drug to treat post-menopausal women with osteoporosis, and men with prostate cancer, but against using it for breast cancer patients and for post-menopausal women at risk of osteoporosis. Comment!

• Tuesday, August 11, 2009

• 11:54 AM Amgen (AMGN +0.6%) pops after the FDA publishes briefing notes for Thursday's advisory committee meeting about Amgen's experimental bone strengthening medicine, denosumab. 1 Comment

• Tuesday, July 28, 2009

• 07:41 AM Amgen (AMGN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agree to jointly market an osteoperosis treatment that could see annual sales of $2B within a decade if approved by regulators. Premarket: AMGN +3.3%. 1 Comment

• Monday, July 27, 2009

• 16:07 PM Amgen (AMGN): Q2 EPS of $1.29 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $3.7B (-1%) vs. $3.6B. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $4.80-4.95 vs. $4.57. Shares +2.5% AH. (PR) 2 Comments
• 00:10 AM Notable earnings after Monday's close: ACE, AMGN, CF, FNF, HMA, HXL, KRC, MAS, MTW, OLN, PCL, SLG, TMK, WRB Comment!

• Wednesday, July 8, 2009

• 09:05 AM Amgen (AMGN) +16% premarket after announcing its experimental bone strengthening medicine, denosumab, demonstrated superior efficacy compared to potential rival Zometa (NVS) in a pivotal Phase-3 head-to-head trial. The results may allow Amgen to charge 20% more than anticipated. Comment!
• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: AMGN +16%. MSCS +12%. FDO +8%. RFMD +7%. LVS +6%. DRYS +5%. AMLN +4%.
  Losers: XNPT -13%. AIB -5%. AIG -4%. CTIC -4%. Comment!