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Amgen reported a 7 percent increase in adjusted profit that topped Wall Street forecasts, although sales of some of its most important products fell short of Wall Street estimates and the company slightly lowered its full-year revenue forecast.
Shares hardly moved, however, as investors were already looking ahead to focus on the company's new osteoporosis drug Prolia, which is just being launched and is widely expected to be Amgen's most important future growth driver.
The company is hoping for an additional U.S. approval for the drug, also known as denosumab, as soon as November for reducing fractures and other skeletal problems in patients whose cancer has spread to the bone.
"This was every bit the mixed quarter that people expected it to be, and with the quarter behind us people will look forward to better times at Amgen, specifically the data on denosumab expected later this year," said Cowen and Co. analyst Eric Schmidt.
The biotechnology bellwether turned in adjusted earnings of $1.38 a share in the second quarter, up from $1.29 a share last year.
Sales rose 2 percent to $3.8 billion, against $3.71 billion a year earlier.
Equity analysts were looking for $1.30 a share on sales of $3.74 billion, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters.
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