Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.18.

Amgen Stock Down 0.9 %

AMGN opened at $281.22 on Friday. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $299.66 and its 200 day moving average is $291.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 48.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,083 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,156,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $699,910,000 after buying an additional 76,798 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during 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 buying an additional 35,785 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, General Partner Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. General Partner Inc. now owns 276 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Amgen

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.