Amgen Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Rising Revenue, Falling EPS Over Previous Quarter

Amgen AMGN unveils its next round of earnings this Friday, July 29, 2011. Here's Benzinga's advanced look at Amgen's second quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects an EPS of $1.30 per share and revenues of $3.78 billion. Amgen's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a positive EPS of $1.34 per share on revenues of $3.8 billion. Investors are bracing themselves for Friday when we'll learn if Amgen reports expected declines in both EPS and revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of Amgen were trading at $54.90. Shares remain unchanged year to date Given that these returns are generally neutral, long-term shareholders are probably hoping for a little boost going into this earnings release. For a full 12 months, the return has declined by 1.9%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already wary of 12-month losses prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Amgen is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has declined slightly over the past three months.

Competitors:

Wondering how some of the other healthcare companies are doing? Here are a few of Amgen's peers in that sector.

• GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR GSK: Hold with a $1.01 recent quarter EPS
• Affymax (AFFY): Moderate Buy with a -$0.36 recent quarter EPS
• Biogen IDEC (BIIB): Hold with a $1.42 recent quarter EPS

The medical-bioengineering company's industry has seen price/earnings contraction of 9.6% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Amgen Inc. is a biotechnology medicines company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for grave illnesses.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming Amgen earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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