Amgen and Altera Third Quarter Results and Analyst Calls

I took notes on the analyst calls of Amgen and Altera yesterday. I don't currently own either, but am contemplating buying each of them.

You can read my notes here:

Amgen (AMGN) Q3 2013 Earnings Call

Altera (ALTR) Q3 2013 Earnings Call

Amgen is doing quite well, confirming the analysis I made in Amgen With Onyx Pharmaceuticals: Long-Term Analysis. I would not call the stock cheap at today's price, but it is reasonable for long-term investors like myself. In addition to a slew of new drugs that may come to market in the next few years Amgen is setting up an infrastructure in China that should reward investors over time. My caveat on Amgen is that a friend recently stopped taking Enbrel for Rheumatoid Arthritis because her white blood cell count dropped to near zero. Looking at the number of deaths and adverse events associated with Enbrel, I can only hope that something safer comes to market soon. Amgen revenues from Enbrel in the quarter were $1.16 million.

Altera, which makes programmable logic devices (PLDs), had a more difficult time, with revenue down 10% y/y. Management thinks they will beat out arch-rival Xilinx with the new 28 nm and sub 28 nm chips, but so far the sales results have not proven that. For a fuller explanation of Altera's argument, see the notes in the link above. It is not a bad analysis, but until it happens I would refrain from buying Altera at current prices. On dips, maybe.

Later today I'll be taking notes on Akamai, then tomorrow is a heavy day, with Celgene, Alexion, and Agenus reporting. I own some Celgene and a tad of Agenus, but not Alexion or Akamai.

For a list of stocks I cover see William's List.

I don't think we are in a stock bubble yet, though it would look like it if you just looked at marginally profitable Internet stocks like Amazon and Facebook. I intend to be very selective in buying going forward, but I think there are still undervalued biotechnology and technology stocks, if you take a long-term view.

Keep diversified!