Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank boosted their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $261.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $333.74.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $344.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $345.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $307.51 and a 200-day moving average of $295.14. The stock has a market cap of $185.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,436,703.50. This represents a 30.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,923 shares in the company, valued at $14,120,924.09. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Amgen by 3,433.3% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.