RESEARCH ALERT - Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) started as hold
Reuters, Tuesday, December 02, 1997 at 11:58
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - UBS Securities said on Tuesday
it started coverage on shares of Amgen Inc with a neutral
rating.
-- Analyst Eric Schmidt said growth rates for the company's
two blockbuster drugs, Epogen and Neupogen,
have declined in recent years.
-- "While each has the potential for further modest revenue
growth, the company's pipeline is ill-prepared to make a
meaningful contribution to future earnings," he said.
-- Projects average annual Epogen sales growth of 10.7
percent through 2000.
-- Sales of Neupogen increased by just nine percent in
1996. "Despite heightened competition and increased use of
peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation, sales could
grow at a modest 6.2 percent annually for the 1997 to 2000
period," he said.
-- Company's newest product, Infergen, is unlikely to
differentiate itself from other approved interferons.
-- Stock fell 1/16 to 52.
Copyright 1997, Reuters News Service |
