Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target Raised to $536.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $481.00 to $536.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $303.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Amgen from $427.00 to $457.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Amgen from $359.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upped their price objective on Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Amgen from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.80.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $460.42. 2,579,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,150. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.19. Amgen has a 12 month low of $312.39 and a 12 month high of $483.99. The stock has a market cap of $248.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total transaction of $825,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,098.28. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Rational Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Amgen by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. James T. Borello RIA grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

About Amgen

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases.

The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A.