Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its position in shares of Amgen by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $297.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $159.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $285.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.91.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $328.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.82.

Amgen 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.