Merrill maintains Amgen at buy

Amgen Inc. was maintained by Merrill Lynch analyst Eric Ende at a buy rating on news that it would acquire Abgenix, Inc. for $2.2 billion and the $450 million assumption of debt, which showed the company's increased confidence in panitumumab for cancer and denosumab for osteoporosis. The deal eliminates payments to Abgenix for 50% of the operating profits of panitumumab and 5% royalty on denosumab sales. The deal is expected to be modestly dilutive in 2006 and 2007, but accretive thereafter, increasing Amgen's long-term growth. Shares of the Thousand Oaks, Calif., biotechnology company were up $3.66, or 4.77%, at $80.44 on volume of 11,330,508 shares versus the three-month running average of 8,170,060 shares.

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