Amgen's stock surges to pace the Dow's gainers after plans to buy back up to $6 billion of its shares this quarter

Shares of Amgen Inc. AMGN, +6.45% shot up 5.2% in morning trading Tuesday, enough to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average's DJIA, +0.30% gainers, after the biotechnology company provided a mixed full-year outlook but said it would buy back up to $6 billion worth of stock in the current quarter. The company said it expects 2022 adjusted earnings per share of $17.00 to $18.00, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $17.65. Revenue for the year is expected to be $25.4 billion to $26.5 billion, which is down 2.2% to up 2.0% from 2021, and is below the FactSet consensus of $26.9 billion. From 2022 through 2030, the company expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for revenue in the mid-single digit percentage range and adjusted EPS CAGR in the high-single to low double-digit range. Regarding the company's plan to repurchase between $6 billion and $7 billion of shares in 2022, the company said it plans to buy back up to $6 billion of its shares during the first quarter. That would represent up to 4.5% of the company's market capitalization of $132.40 billion. Amgen's stock has run up 11.2% over the past three months, while the Dow has slipped 3.4%.