Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC boosted their price target on Amgen from $343.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Amgen from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.65.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $329.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.45. Amgen has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $313.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. The company had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.58 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Amgen’s payout ratio is 73.57%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total transaction of $1,058,659.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,703.50. This represents a 30.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total transaction of $2,317,053.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,908 shares of company stock valued at $3,674,966. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Amgen by 1,214.3% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at $32,000. 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.