Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $278.39, but opened at $313.39. Amgen shares last traded at $313.33, with a volume of 4,053,898 shares traded.

The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 65.0% in the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC increased its position in Amgen by 56.9% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth $6,534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.33.

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.