Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $306.95 on Friday. Amgen has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $164.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.94.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Talbot Financial LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $204,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in Amgen by 242.2% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,255,000 after acquiring an additional 16,985 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.