Why ConocoPhillips, Amgen, Alere & Three Other Stocks Are Trending Today

Amgen Earnings Ahead of Estimates

Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported second-quarter net income of $2.84 per share on revenue of $5.7 billion, beating the consensus estimates by $0.10 per share and $120 million, respectively. The company’s sales advanced by 6.1% year-over-year, led by a 10.1% increase in sales of Enbrel and a 29.7% spike in revenues of Prolia. Management also raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to the range of $11.10 to $11.40 from the previous $10.85-to-$11.20 range. Despite the strong results, Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) shares are trading lower, but are set towards a recovery. Dan Loeb’s Third Point owned 3 million shares of Amgen at the end of the first quarter.

Cheesecake Spikes After Earnings Report

Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ:CAKE) bulls are having a good day after the restaurant chain reported earnings of $0.78 per share for the second quarter, beating the estimates by $0.07 per share. Although sales missed estimates by $3.06 million, Cheesecake shares are nevertheless 5.45% higher in morning trading. Traders are looking past the revenue miss and focusing more on the 20% quarterly dividend increase to $0.24 per share, the 0.3% rise in comparable restaurant sales, and the 7.5 million share increase in the share repurchase authorization. A total of 19 investors from our database were long Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ:CAKE) at the end of the first quarter, down by five from the previous quarter.

Alere Volatile after DOJ Subpoena

Trading around Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) has been fast and furious today after the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the company faces a criminal probe over Medicaid and Medicare billing. The government is also investigating Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) in regards to whether the company made illegal kickbacks to doctors to ramp up sales. Although shares fell 30% yesterday, the company’s stock is up 22% today after Alere clarified that the DOJ subpoena concerned Alere Toxicology Services, the company’s Austin pain management lab. According to Alere, the lab accounted for significantly less than 1% of total revenues. The company has also said that it ‘believes the matters to which the subpoena relates are not material’. The number of funds tracked by Insider Monkey with holdings in Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) rose by 15 quarter-over-quarter to 45 at the end of March.

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