Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $353.25 and last traded at $351.32, with a volume of 3269429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $349.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Amgen from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus increased their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $400.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.71.

Amgen Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $332.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.43. The firm has a market cap of $189.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.58 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 73.57%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total transaction of $299,253.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,381,251.68. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total transaction of $1,058,659.14. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 160,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Amgen by 296.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 18,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,027,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 165.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 10,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 6,627 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 243,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $68,590,000 after purchasing an additional 6,222 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at about $1,841,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.