Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 34,497 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 93% compared to the average daily volume of 17,845 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

Amgen stock traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $308.50. 1,176,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,552,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $279.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.24. The company has a market cap of $165.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Amgen by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $173,639,000 after buying an additional 5,751 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its stake in Amgen by 23.3% during the third quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 1,033 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 26.5% during the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Amgen by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,171,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 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.