Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AMGN. Leerink Partnrs cut Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.05.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded up $32.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $311.29. 9,644,103 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,894,568. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72. The firm has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 19.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 65.0% during the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 10.2% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 106.3% during the first quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 56.9% in the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Amgen during the first quarter worth about $6,534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company 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.