Amgen Stock Rockets; Biotech Is ‘Very Encouraged’ With Its Obesity Study

Amgen (AMGN) stock surged late Thursday after the biotech behemoth said it’s “very encouraged” with the interim results of its obesity treatment, MariTide.

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The company didn’t provide any numbers from its study of MariTide in adults with obesity. But it said it’s actively planning Phase 3 studies. This puts Amgen on track to potentially rival blockbuster weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO).

In addition to the MariTide update, Amgen says it wrapped a Phase 1 study of its other obesity drug, a small-molecule medicine known as AMG 786.

If successful, Amgen would rival Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound. Both are struggling with their own success, however. Wegovy sales nearly doubled year over year in the first quarter, but missed sales projections. Zepbound, on the other hand, topped forecasts. But Lilly’s Mounjaro, which uses the same chemical backbone, missed.

Experts say there’s room for more players in the obesity treatment market. And Amgen uses a different mechanism to prompt weight loss. In after-hours trading, Amgen stock rocketed 13.2% to 315.20.

Amgen Stock: Sales In Line, Earnings Beat

Overall, Amgen’s sales climbed 22% to $7.45 billion, meeting analysts’ forecast. Adjusted earnings slipped 1% to $3.96 per share, coming in above expectations for $3.88, according to FactSet.

Revenue from Amgen’s biggest moneymaker, osteoporosis treatment Prolia, came in at $999 million, advancing 8% year over year. That narrowly beat projections for $998 million. Promisingly, sales of cholesterol treatment Repatha surged 33% to $517 million, crushing calls for $451 million.

The best growth came from Tezspire, Amgen’s treatment for severe asthma. Sales skyrocketed 80% to $173 million. But that lagged Wall Street’s projection for $189 million, according to FactSet.

Amgen narrowed its adjusted earnings outlook for the year and now expects $19 to $20.20 per share. The midpoint of the outlook topped analysts’ forecast for $19.47. The company raised the low end of its sales outlook and now calls for $32.5 billion to $33.8 billion, vs. analysts’ estimate of $32.97 billion.

Amgen stock was narrowly above its 50-day moving average at Thursday’s close.

Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.

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