Amgen Jumps on Strong Earnings, Faster Schedule for Arthritis Drug
Amgen
(AMGN) - Get Amgen Inc. Report
shares flew to 73 in after-hours trading from a close of 66 5/16 following the company's strong second-quarter earnings report. The company earned 50 cents a share, topping the 23-analyst
First Call
estimate of 46 cents and moving ahead of the year-earlier 41 cents.
But the bigger news for Amgen was that the company is pushing up its rheumatoid arthritis drug,
Il-1ra
. The
Food and Drug Administration
said it was OK to file based on the two Phase II trials the company did on the drug. Amgen won't have to conduct Phase III trials. It will file for approval of the drug by the end of the year, way ahead of schedule.
The news is bad -- at least initially -- for
Immunex
(IMNX)
, which markets RA hit
Enbrel
, and
TheStreet Recommends
Centocor
(CNTO)
, which hopes for approval of its RA candidate
Remicade
later this year. The sudden crowdedness of the market will spook IMNX and CNTO investors, analysts said. But it remains to be seen how strong Amgen's data are.
--
Jesse Eisinger
Conoco
(COC)
will replace
Battle Mountain Gold
(BMG)
in the
S&P 500
after the closing bell Aug. 6.
DuPont
(DD) - Get DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Report
is spinning off the remaining 70% of Conoco it owns.
Merrill Lynch
(MER)
said Herbert Allison, its president and COO -- and the anticipated successor to Chairman and CEO David Komansky -- is retiring from the company after 28 years. Vice Chairmen Stephen Hammerman and John "Launny" Steffens will assume Allison's duties while a replacement is found.
In other postclose news (earnings estimates from First Call; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified):
Earnings/revenue reports and previews
Catalyst
(CLYS)
said it expects to break even in its second quarter. The six-analyst view called for earnings of 12 cents vs. the year-earlier 6 cents. The company blamed severance costs for a former CFO for the expected shortfall.
Coca-Cola Enterprises
(CCE)
said it expects to record a second-quarter charge of $103 million due to
Coca-Cola's
(KO) - Get Coca-Cola Company Report
European product recall. On June 24, CCE said it expected the recall to cost $60 million.
Flowers Industries
(FLO) - Get Flowers Foods, Inc. Report
said it sees second-quarter earnings coming in around 10 cents a share due to production realignment costs and promotional expenses at its
Mrs. Smith's Bakeries
business. The 10-analyst estimate called for a repeat of the year-ago 19 cents.
Intergraph
(INGR) - Get Ingredion Incorporated Report
said its second-quarter revenue will fall about $25 million below expectations because of weak orders and revenue from worldwide computer hardware businesses. The three-analyst estimate called for a loss of 15 cents a share during the quarter vs. the year-ago loss of 43 cents.
LaserVision
(LVCI)
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 17 cents a share, 3 cents ahead of the five-analyst estimate and above the year-ago penny. The company also set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Tropical Sportswear
(TSIC)
sees third-quarter earnings of 40 cents to 42 cents a share due to the cancellation of about $6.5 million in orders and the deferral of about $4.5 million in other orders. The single-analyst forecast called for earnings of 67 cents vs. the 40 cents made a year earlier.
Vitesse Semiconductor
(VTSS)
shares slipped 2 3/4 to 69 in after-hours trading despite a positive third-quarter earnings report. The company made 24 cents a share, 1 cent ahead of the 13-analyst estimate and above the year-ago 18 cents.
In other earnings news:
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
Austria's
RHI
agreed to acquire
Global Industrial Technologies
(GIX) - Get GigCapital2, Inc. Report
for $300 million.
BFGoodrich
(GR)
and
Coltec
(COT) - Get Cott Corporation Report
completed their $2 billion merger after battling lawsuits brought by rivals alleging the companies were violating antitrust laws.
GenTek
(GK)
agreed to acquire a unit of Germany's
Jenoptik
for $218 million in cash and the assumption of debt.
Canada's
Le Groupe Forex
said it received a new offer from an undisclosed U.S. firm that's better than the C$26-a-share bid made last month from
Louisiana-Pacific
(LPX) - Get Louisiana-Pacific Corporation Report
.
Liberty Media
(LMGA)
said it agreed to swap some assets for 109.6 million shares of
TCI Music
(TUNE)
stock. Liberty will exchange its Internet content and interactive television assets, rights to provide interactive video services to
AT&T's
cable television systems and $150 million in cash and notes.
Offerings and stock actions
Central Garden & Pet
(CENT) - Get Central Garden & Pet Company Report
increased its stock buyback plan by $25 million, bringing the total amount authorized to $130 million.
Inktomi
(INKT)
filed for a 3.3 million-share offering.
Miscellany
The
Justice Department
sued
Toyota's
(TOYOY)
U.S. unit, claiming the pollution-detection systems on 2.2 million of its vehicles violated clean air laws.
