Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Short Interest Up 11.5% in January

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,740,000 shares, an increase of 11.5% from the January 15th total of 11,430,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Amgen Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $291.16 on Friday. Amgen has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $156.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.14.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Talbot Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $513,033,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 9.0% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $204,659,000 after acquiring an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

About Amgen

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.