Amgen Reports Stellar Earnings, Raises Guidance

Amgen AMGN moved higher after-hours Tuesday following a mixed quarterly earnings report, but stellar guidance.

Amgen reported GAAP EPS growth of 22 percent, EPS grew from $1.65 in Q2 2013 to $2.01 in Q2 2014. Consensus EPS estimates (adjusted) for Q2 2014 were $2.07; the company reported (adjusted) EPS of $2.37, resulting in a $0.30 beat.

Key drug products like Enbrel, Kyprolis, Prolia and XGEVA contributed to top line growth, and bottom line improvements came as a result of cost reduction in SG&A, and R&D.

Revenue grew by 11 percent year over year, as Q2 2013 revenue increased from $4.67 billion to $5.18 billion in Q2 2014. Analyst consensus revenue estimates were $4.98 billion.

Amgen's full year EPS guidance improved from a range of $7.90-$8.20 to $8.20-$8.40. The company raised its full year 2014 sales outlook from a range of $19.2 billion -$19.6 billion to $19.5 billion - $19.7 billion.

Amgen raised its guidance on top-line due to an improving drug pipeline along with organic growth; the improvement in bottom line results came as a result of further cost efficiencies (the company expects to reduce headcount by 2,400-2,900 through fiscal year 2015).

The stock is up 4.5 percent in Wednesday's pre-market.