Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AMGN. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amgen from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.50.

Amgen Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $298.81 on Friday. Amgen has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $335.88. The firm has a market cap of $160.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.99.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value of $376,286.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. The trade was a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $27,000. First Pacific Financial increased its position in Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Amgen by 1,214.3% during the 1st 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. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.