Moody's cuts Amgen to stable

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed Amgen Inc.'s A3 long-term and Prime-2 short-term ratings and revised Amgen's outlook to stable from positive.

These rating actions follow Amgen's recent announcement regarding its planned financial policies through 2015, the agency said. The policies include a target of paying out 60% of earnings on average in the form of shareholder dividends and stock repurchases.

The affirmation of the Amgen's A3 ratings reflects its strong position as the world's largest stand-alone biotechnology company, its high margins and its good cash flow, the agency said.

The ratings benefit from Amgen's recent launch of Prolia and Xgeva, the agency added. Risk factors include product concentration risk and financial leverage that is somewhat higher than most global pharmaceutical peer companies.

The revision in the outlook results from Amgen's recently announced financial policies including a stated intention of paying about 60% of adjusted net income on average in the form of dividends and stock repurchases.

The debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 2 times as of Dec. 31.

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