Amgen Sets $5 Billion Stock Buyback

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Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said Tuesday it will buy back nearly $5 billion of its common stock, building on a previous $5 billion buyback launched in December 2003 that still has about $968 million to go.

At Amgen’s closing price of $61.95 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the authorization comes out to about 80.6 million shares. The company has about 1.3 billion shares outstanding.

Amgen, the Thousand Oaks-based manufacturer of anemia treatments Epogen and Aranesp, had $3.84 billion in cash and marketable securities as of Sept. 30. The company said the buyback reflects its confidence in its long-term prospects.

The news was released after the close of U.S. exchanges.

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