Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Rating Increased to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Finviz reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMGN. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Amgen from $342.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, DZ Bank increased their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.65.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock traded down $3.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $336.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 116,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,738,517. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $312.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.72. The company has a market capitalization of $181.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45. Amgen has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.38.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a return on equity of 162.59% and a net margin of 19.47%.The business had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,436,703.50. The trade was a 30.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total transaction of $299,253.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,251.68. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 1,214.3% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Amgen during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by 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.