Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires New Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,432 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,807,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,245,881,000 after purchasing an additional 352,143 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,182,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495,503 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Amgen by 1,292.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,693,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Amgen by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,431,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,676,183,000 after purchasing an additional 875,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,128,328 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,336,647,000 after acquiring an additional 685,785 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Trading Down 1.7%

AMGN stock opened at $301.29 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $340.89. The firm has a market cap of $162.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.27.

About Amgen

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.