Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded to Outperform by William Blair

William Blair upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AMGN. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Amgen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, SVB Leerink downgraded Amgen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $324.00 to $318.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $305.05.

Amgen Trading Up 11.8 %

AMGN stock traded up $32.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $311.29. 9,644,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. Amgen has a 52-week low of $211.71 and a 52-week high of $329.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.51 and a 200-day moving average of $281.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a return on equity of 145.62% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.