Jefferies Update From AMGN Business Meeting

Jefferies is providing an update from Amgen Inc.'s AMGN business review meeting. “At its inexpensive valuation (trading at ~10x estimated '11 earnings similar to big pharma vs. peers ~14x), we view strong execution (ESA franchise stabilization, Prolia uptick, strong XGEVA launch) will drive share price appreciation,” Jefferies writes. “As expected, AMGN to pay dividend (dividend yield of ~2% vs. ~4.5% for big pharma); it's a start and to grow meaningfully over time (according to AMGN). AMGN intends to initiate a dividend payment (20% of adjusted net income), with its 2Q11 earnings in July. We estimate a yearly dividend of ~$1.00-$1.10.” Amgen closed Thursday at $53.69.