Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on AMGN. William Blair raised Amgen from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a market perform rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Amgen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $305.05.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN traded up $32.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,644,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.33. 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 current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BIP Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its position in Amgen by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by 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.