Amgen Shares Slide On Weak Enbrel Sales

Shares of Amgen Inc. slid in Wednesday's extended session after the biopharmaceutical company reported a double-digit sales decline of its blockbuster drug. Amgen reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $2.07 billion, or $2.79 a share, from $1.9 billion, or $2.50 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the pharmaceutical giant would have earned $3.15 a share. Revenue slipped 1% to $5.46 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $2.99 a share on revenue of $5.61 billion. Amgen also said that sales of its rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis drug Enbrel fell 15% due to increased competition. The drug maker kept its 2017 revenue outlook unchanged at $22.3 billion to $23.1 billion but raised the lower end of its adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of $12 to $12.60. It had previously projected $11.80 to $12.60. Amgen shares dropped 2.9% after hours.