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Amgen Shares Up, DreamWorks Down

Wall Street gave Amgen Inc. a vote of approval Wednesday as shares reached a record high in reaction to the company’s announcement to cut 2,400 to 2,900 jobs. The Thousand Oaks pharmaceutical company disclosed the staff cuts, which could amount to about 15 percent of its global workforce, in its second-quarter filing on Tuesday. The company also reported 11 percent growth for revenue and 23 percent for earnings, and increased its guidance for the rest of the year. Analysts responded positively to the announcement. Credit Suisse and Citibank both raised their earnings projections and price targets. “We view the restructuring plan and 15 percent workforce reduction announced as a positive that will help the company improve its cost structure while continuing to invest in the pipeline and key product launches,” Citigroup analyst Yaron Werber wrote in a note to investors. Shares of Amgen closed up $6.70, or 5.4 percent, to $130.01 on the Nasdaq. Another local company, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. in Glendale, suffered the wrath of investors after the film studio reported disappointing results for the second quarter on Tuesday. The Glendale film studio reported a net loss of $15.4 million (18 cents a share), compared to average analyst estimates of -2 cents. The poor performance stemmed from lower than expected box-office returns of “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” Also, the company disclosed in its filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating a write-down it took last year for “Turbo,” a 2013 film that was a disappointment. Shares of DreamWorks on Wednesday closed down $2.68, or nearly 12 percent, to $19.98 on the Nasdaq.

Joel Russel
Joel Russel
Joel Russell joined the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006 as a reporter. He transferred to sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal in 2012 as managing editor. Since he assumed the position of editor in 2015, the Business Journal has been recognized four times as the best small-circulation tabloid business publication in the country by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Previously, he worked as senior editor at Hispanic Business magazine and editor of Business Mexico.

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