Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $309.22.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $287.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.01, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $282.39 and its 200 day moving average is $285.31.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.