By Michael Calia
Celgene Corp. (CELG) on Thursday said its board had voted to
recommend a stock split to the biopharmaceutical company's
shareholders.
"This recommendation reflects our continued confidence in the
long-term outlook for the company," Chairman and Chief Executive
Bob Hugin said.
Celgene--which has continued to report improving revenue as it
pursues an aggressive growth plan--last month boosted its earnings
outlook for the recently ended year and raised its long-term growth
targets.
Celgene's earnings guidance for 2014 fell below analysts'
expectations, but the company is known for offering cautious
initial guidance before subsequently raising targets.
The stock-split recommendation is subject to shareholder
approval at the Summit, N.J.-based company's annual meeting, which
is scheduled for June 18.
The proposed split would boost shares outstanding to about 812
million from about 406 million, according to Celgene.
Shares of Celgene were inactive premarket. The stock closed
Wednesday at $160.54 and is down 5% so far this year.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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