Amgen Inc. said Thursday earnings per share for thesecond quarter of this year increased 29 percent from ayear ago, which was better than many Wall Streetanalysts predicted.

In addition, the Thousand Oaks, Calif. company said thaton Aug. 15 it will split its stock, two-for-one, forshareholders as of Aug. 1.

Amgen reported net income of $138 million for thequarter, ending June 30, which was 28 percent higherthan the $107 million in the second quarter of 1994.Earnings per share were 99 cents, a 29 percent increaseover the 77 cents per share a year ago.

Most Wall Street analysts estimated second quarterearnings at 96 cents per share.

Amgen said revenues for the quarter totaled $494 million,up 19 percent from the $415 million in the same threemonths last year.

For the first six months of this year, Amgen reported netincome of $246 million, or $1.76 per share, comparedwith $201 million, or $1.43 per share, for the same periodin 1994. Revenues for the first months were $933 million,20 percent higher than the $779 million a year ago.

In the first quarter of 1995, the company said net incomewas $93.5 million, or 66 cents per share.

Andre Garnet, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.in St. Louis, said Amgen's second quarter performance,in general, was "extremely good."

Two high points, Garnet noted, were a 16 percentincrease in worldwide sales of Neupogen, which restoreswhite blood cells in cancer patients under goingchemotherapy, and a 35 percent boost in research anddevelopment spending.

"Neupogen was a big question," Garnet said, "becausesales were lagging a bit." As for investment in researchand development, he added that the company needs tofocus attention on its product pipeline. Spending forresearch jumped to $108 million in the second quarterfrom $80 million last year.

Neupogen and Epogen, which boosts red blood cells tocombat anemia associated with kidney disease, are thecompany's two products on the market. Combinedworldwide sales for the second quarter were $463 millioncompared with $389 million in 1994.

Neupogen accounted for $247 million in revenues, up 16percent from $212 million in the second quarter last year.The drug experienced its biggest surge in sales outsidethe U.S., where revenues were up 33 percent.

Epogen sales jumped 22 percent for the quarter to $216million from $177 million a year ago.

The two-for-one stock split, Amgen officials said, will bedistributed in the form of a 100 percent stock dividend,doubling the number of outstanding shares from 131,739to 263,478 and reducing the price per share by 50 percent.

Amgen officials said the split is designed for marketefficiency, making it easier to handle the stock at a lowerprice, and it will broaden the investor base among smallershareholders.

Amgen released the earnings late Thursday. Its stock(NASDAQ:AMGN) ended the day at $78.50, down 62cents. n

-- Charles Craig

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.