Amgen Gains on Strong Guidance

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Shares in Amgen Inc. gained nearly 4 percent after the company’s chief executive said the company would beat its 2007 profit forecast due to spending cuts.


Chief Executive Kevin Sharer said that the Thousand Oaks-based company’s earnings exceeded the Oct. 24 guidance range of $4.13 to $4.23. The company will report its earnings on Jan. 24.


Sharer said that the company will “come close” to earlier projections of $4.30 a share profit.


Shares in Amgen were hurt in 2007, dropping more than 33 percent, after numerous studies showed that its best-selling anemia drugs, Aranesp and Epogen, were linked to higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death, when used by cancer patients. The drugs generated $6.6 billion in sales in 2006 which was nearly half of the company’s sales that year.


Shares in Amgen were up 3.9 percent to $47.14 in afternoon trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq.

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