Kevin Sharer

Biotechnology company Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit as product sales increased 8 percent, its tax rate fell and it bought back shares.But the company left its full-year outlook unchanged and its shares were flat in after-hours trading."It was a solid quarter, but maybe not quite as good as the headlines read," said Cowen & Co analyst Eric Schmidt. "I think much of the upside to the top line came from other revenue, not product sales ... The other reason for the better EPS was of course the share count reduction."Amgen said it bought back around 21 million shares of its stock in the first quarter, leaving $3.6 billion remaining under its authorized stock repurchase program.Over the past year, Amgen has stepped up efforts to return cash to shareholders -- by both buying back shares and initiating dividend payments.Excluding items, the world's largest biotech company earned $1.61 per share, compared with the average Wall Street forecast of $1.45 per...

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