Amgen 2020 outlook falls short of Street estimates, shares down 3%

 Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) on Thursday forecast 2020 earnings well short of current Wall Street estimates, sending shares of the largest U.S. biotechnology company down 3%.

For the full year, the company forecast earnings of $ 14.85 to $ 15.60 per share on revenue as high as $ 25.6 billion. Analysts had estimated 2020 adjusted earnings of $ 16.14 on revenue of $ 25.5 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

A company official attributed the difference to lower interest income and Amgen’s recently acquired 20.5% stake in China’s BeiGene Ltd (6160.HK), which is not yet profitable.

For the fourth quarter of last year, Amgen said its sales fell 2% from a year earlier due to competition from lower-cost generic drugs and biosimilars, but share buybacks enabled the company to post a profit that topped Wall Street estimates.

Sales for the quarter totaled $ 5.88 billion. Total revenue fell 1% to $ 6.2 billion, which was ahead of the average analyst estimate of $ 6.06 billion.

Quarterly adjusted earnings per share rose 6% to $ 3.64, beating the average Wall Street estimate of $ 3.48.

Net earnings fell 5% to $ 2.85 per share due to higher operating costs partially offset by a lower share count.

Sales of older drugs such as white blood cell booster Neulasta and kidney drug Sensipar fell sharply due to competition from cheaper versions. Neulasta was down 43% at $ 665 million and Sensipar sales were off by 76% at $ 107 million.

Sales of newer drugs like cholesterol fighter Repatha and migraine drug Aimovig rose. Repatha was up by 26% to $ 200 million, while Aimovig rose 3% to $ 98 million in the quarter.

Amgen said it bought back around 6% of its outstanding shares last year.

Shares of the company were down $ 7.15, or 3.2%, at $ 219 in after hours trading.