Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

AMGN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $362.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Amgen from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Amgen from $343.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $388.29.

Amgen Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $417.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $413.72 and its 200-day moving average is $372.82. The stock has a market cap of $225.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. Amgen has a 52-week low of $288.00 and a 52-week high of $447.03.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen will post 22.94 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $2.52 dividend. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.65%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total value of $1,194,415.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. The trade was a 28.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,222 shares of company stock worth $2,540,926. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 72.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 81 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 331.6% during the 1st quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and commercial activities focus on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, neuroscience and rare diseases. The company uses biologic research, human genetics and other advanced technologies to develop targeted therapies and supports patients through treatment and disease-management services.

Amgen’s portfolio includes medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases; Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis; Xgeva for cancer-related bone complications; Repatha for certain cardiovascular conditions; Otezla for inflammatory diseases; Aimovig for migraine prevention; Tezspire for severe asthma; and Lumakras for certain cancers.