Amgen Sharply Higher After Q4 Beat, Positive Repatha Results

Amgen, Inc. AMGN shares are trading higher by $6.42 at $166.00 in Friday's session.

The company gave investors a double dose of good news with a Q4 EPS beat of a dime and a sales beat of $25 million. The company announced Repatha has met its primary endpoint by reducing risks of cardiovascular events.

After a higher open, it continued in that direction before peaking at $167.85 and reversing course. That high just exceeds its October 10 high of $167.82.

From a longer-term perspective, the issue has held up much better than its peers in the biotech sector as it's near its all-time high that was made in July 2015 at $181.81. Many other issues in the sector are at 52-week and in some cases multi-year lows.