UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades Amgen to Neutral on Valuation

In a report published Wednesday, Piper Jaffray analyst M. Ian Somaiya downgraded the rating on Amgen AMGN from Overweight to Neutral, but reiterated the $107.00 price target. In the report, Somaiya noted, “Additionally, 1Q13 revenues fell short of our and Street estimates, with management maintaining 2013 revenue and earnings guidance which limits upside until late stage clinical catalysts provide visibility into future growth, something we do not expect until 2014 at the earliest. In the meantime, we see multiple competitive threats which could limit topline growth for Amgen's base business including generic Zometa (Xgeva) and Pfizer's Xeljanz (Enbrel). Additionally, we see 2013 as a year with few meaningful clinical catalysts and data readouts with low probability of success, including PFS data in ovarian cancer in mid-2013 from trebananib and OS data from T-VEC by late 2013. We look to get more constructive on AMGN shares once we have visibility into either better growth via the pipeline or improved performance of the base business.” Amgen closed on Tuesday at $112.76.