Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) soared Wednesday after the California-based biopharmaceutical company posted first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analyst expectations.
For the quarter ended March 31, the biopharmaceutical company booked earnings of US$3.47 per share on revenue of US$5.6bn. The consensus earnings estimate was US$3.23 per share on revenue of US$5.5bn.
Amgen's higher first-quarter profit was driven by lower taxes and a 3% increase in product sales of newer drugs like cholesterol medication Repatha which offset weakness in older products. Repatha sales, more than doubled to US$123 mln.
Shares traded 0.5% higher to US$173 in morning trade.
Jefferies analyst Michael Yee told Reuters that the results marked "a good quarter and a good start to the year" for Amgen.
READ: Amgen shares slip as biotech behemoth misses fourth quarter expectations
Other catalysts for Amgen are likely to come from its launch of new products including migraine drug Aimovig, which is likely to get U.S. regulatory approval next month.
"Amgen's strong first-quarter performance was driven by our new and recently launched products, all of which delivered double-digit, volume-driven growth," Amgen Inc. CEO Robert A. Bradway said in an earnings statement.
"We look forward to further expanding our new product portfolio with the expected U.S. launch of Aimovig, our migraine prevention therapy, in the second quarter and the European launch of AMGEVITA, our first biosimilar, later this year," he added.
The company said it expects 2018 earnings of US$12.80 to US$13.70 per share on revenue of US$21.90 bn to US$22.80 bn. The company's previous guidance was earnings of US$12.60 to US$13.70 per share on revenue of US$21.80 bn to US$22.80 bn.