Amgen "overweight," target price reduced - update

28.01.08 - Lehman Brothers

NEW YORK, January 28 (newratings.com) - Analyst Jim Birchenough of Lehman Brothers maintains his "overweight" rating on Amgen Inc (AMGN), while revising his estimates for the company. The target price has been reduced from $72 to $69.

In a research note published on January 25, the analyst mentions that the company has posted its 4Q07 non-GAAP EPS in-line with the earlier guidance, aided by better-than-expected product sales. Amgen has issued its EPS guidance for 2008 short of the consensus. The guidance is, however, likely to prove conservative, if the ODAC recommendations fall short of the NCD restrictions, the analyst adds. The EPS estimate for the current year has been raised from $4.13 to $4.29. The EPS estimate for the next year has been reduced from $4.61 to $4.32.