Amgen, Third Point LLC biopharmaceuticals news

Activist investor Third Point outlined a plan for increasing Amgen's valuation by more than 80% in the next two years. The firm wants Amgen to split into two companies, one for "cash-generative Mature Products" and one for "R&D-intensive Growth Products," although it did not provide specifics. According to a letter to Third Point investors, the firm said the split "could create almost $249 per share in total value" in two years.

Third Point said Amgen has long underperformed its biotech peers and "trades at a discount to the U.S. pharmaceutical sector, despite superior revenue and earnings growth rates." Amgen's P/E ratio of 15.6 at the end of 3Q14 was lower than 21.9 for large cap biotechs and 17.3 for pharmas. ...