Amgen Q1 - Solid Results

Last week Amgen released solid results. Sales increased 12% year on year to $6.1bn. Some of the their up and coming blockbuster drugs had a good quarter. Repatha which treats cholesterol increased sales by 62%. That is one of their potential rockstars.

All eyes were on Otezla, a drug that treats plaque psoriasis after they bought its rights for $13.4bn last year. Positive data was released form a phase 3 trial which could lead to a label expansion.

Let's not get too technical before I lose you. Earnings increased by 17% to $4.17 a share. Annualise that and the stock trades at 14 times earnings. But annualising one quarters results in a period like this is dangerous. Fortunately for a company like this, guidance was given and even more importantly, it was unchanged. With everything going on, they don't expect any decline in sales and profits. That is the type of company you want to be invested in and why Amgen is back at its February levels.

They do plan leveraging off their very strong immunology and antibody expertise to help fight COVID-19. They plan on spending an extra $100m doing this.

The healthcare sector is a good place to be invested. No one wants to compromise on taking their medicines during a period like this. Amgen is a large business with a very strong balance sheet. This stock is a core holding in all our portfolios and should be added to at these levels.