Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMGN. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $329.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.00.

Amgen Stock Down 0.1%

Amgen stock opened at $336.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $180.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $293.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.01. Amgen has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $345.84.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.58 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,036 shares of company stock worth $2,992,594. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Amgen by 3,433.3% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

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.