Amgen (AMGN) reported third quarter earnings per share of $1.47, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.26 and 21% above the year-ago earnings of $1.21. Cost cuts and a lower tax rate helped boost the top-line despite a 2% decline in total revenues, which came in at $3,812 million. Total product sales decreased 1% to $3,736 million. While sales in the U.S. were relatively unchanged at $2,918 million, international sales declined 4% to $818 million mainly due to the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange (Fx) fluctuation, which affected sales by approximately $76 million. Aranesp sales declined 19% to $685 million (U.S. - $333 million, down 27%; ex-U.S. - $352 million, down 9%), mainly due to a decline in demand reflecting the negative impact, primarily in the supportive cancer care setting, of additional product label changes which occurred in August 2008. Aranesp continued to lose share ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - March 27, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH), Infosys Technologies, Ltd. (INFY), Wipro Ltd. (WIT), Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) and AK Steel (AKS).

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Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Cognizant Sails in Choppy Waters

Recent outlook for companies in the IT Services sector has not been positive, and the sentiment has been supported by datapoints through CY2009. However, companies like Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH), Infosys Technologies, Ltd. (

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Amgen, Inc. (AMGN), a global biotechnology company, is focused on the development and commercialization of human therapeutics. The company's key products are Epogen/Aranesp (anemia), Neupogen/Neulasta (neutropenia), and Enbrel (inflammatory disease). Results over the past few quarters demonstrate the challenging, but stabilizing ESA market.Nevertheless, we still feel as though the pipeline is significantly undervalued, and we continue to recommend the name as a long-term Hold within the biotechnology sector. Recent positive news on phase III denosumab is a big reason we continue to be positive on Amgen. Our price target is $56.Based on our 2009 through 2013 model, the 5-year earnings CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 7% is generally in-line with that of most large-cap pharmaceutical companies. Yet it is well below some of the larger biotechnology peers such as Genentech (DNA), Biogen (BIIB), Celgene  (CELG), Genzyme (GENZ) and Gilead ...

Amgen, Inc. (AMGN), a global biotechnology company, is focused on the development and commercialization of human therapeutics. The company's key products are Epogen/Aranesp (anemia), Neupogen/Neulasta (neutropenia), and Enbrel (inflammatory disease).Results over the past few quarters demonstrate the challenging, but stabilizing ESA [erythropoiesis stimulating agents] market. Nevertheless, we still feel as though the pipeline is significantly undervalued, and we continue to recommend the name as a long-term hold within the biotechnology sector.Recent positive news on phase III denosumab is a big reason we continue to be positive on Amgen. Our price target is $62.Read the full analyst report on AMGN. "AMGN" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research