Amgen Stock Surges After Q1 Earnings Beat, ‘Encouraging’ Weight-Loss Drug Update

Amgen (AMGN) shares surged more than 14% in extended-hours trading on Thursday after the biopharmaceutical giant posted quarterly earnings that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations and provided a positive update about trials of its injectable weight-loss drug MariTide.

For the quarter ending March 31, the Thousand Oaks, California-based drugmaker disclosed adjusted earnings of $3.96 per share, edging ahead of the $3.88-a-share figure expected by analysts. Revenue in the period grew 22% from a year earlier to $7.4 billion and met the Street forecast.

A Weight-Loss Drug To Rival Ozempic, Wegovy?

The company announced it would give up pursuit of an oral weight-loss pill AMG786, instead focusing its resources on the development of its highly anticipated injectable MariTide.

CEO Robert Bradway told analysts on the company’s earnings call that the drugmaker had completed interim analysis of the phase two study and were very encouraged with the results so far.

The company said it expects more complete data from MariTide’s phase two studies toward the end of the year, adding that plans for a comprehensive phase three program remain on schedule.

If approved, Amgen aims to offer MariTide via a convenient, auto-injector device at a monthly or less frequent intervals. Simply put, the drug works by activating a hormone that signals a feeling of fullness and blocking another hormone that stores fat, helping a patient to lose weight.

MariTide could compete with highly successful weight-loss drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound manufactured by pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) in a market some analysts see reaching $100 billion by 2030.

“Even modest market share assumptions in this large market may make investors more and more comfortable,” Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat wrote in a note cited by Reuters.

Level to Watch Post Earnings Jump

Taking a look at the weekly chart, a recent pullback in Amgen shares found support around $261 from the 50-week moving average and a horizontal line connecting price action dating back to June 2020.

Amid an expected post-earnings rally, investors should keep an eye on the $330 level, an area where the stock may encounter overhead resistance from its all-time high (ATH) set in early February. A convincing breakout above this closely-watched level would likely see the stock’s longer-term uptrend continue.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.