Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Vetr from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday. The firm currently has a $165.78 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Vetr‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.87% from the stock’s current price.
Several large investors recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ariel Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at $1,910,000. Gargoyle Investment Advisor L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 8.7% in the second quarter. Gargoyle Investment Advisor L.L.C. now owns 18,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.2% in the second quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 19,058 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 19,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at $2,608,000.
Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $193.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, March 29th. Leerink Swann restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, May 18th. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $181.35.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 27th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.10. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The business earned $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Amgen will post $11.18 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 17th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 15th.
In other news, EVP Sean E. Harper sold 21,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.99, for a total transaction of $3,456,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,674,761.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Baltimore sold 3,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.21, for a total value of $520,679.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,350 shares in the company, valued at $5,085,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers various human therapeutics. The Company’s business segment is human therapeutics. Its marketed products portfolio includes Neulasta (pegfilgrastim); erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), such as Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and EPOGEN (epoetin alfa); Sensipar/Mimpara (cinacalcet); XGEVA (denosumab); Prolia (denosumab); NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), and other marketed products, such as Vectibix (panitumumab), Nplate (romiplostim) and Corlanor (ivabradine).
