Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $447.37 and last traded at $446.2170, with a volume of 418,349 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $438.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $420.00 to $452.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $366.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Amgen from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Amgen from $362.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $388.64.

Amgen Stock Up 2.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $416.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $376.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by $0.67. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The company had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. Amgen’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.65%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total transaction of $1,194,415.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total value of $825,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,098.28. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rational Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 13.7% during the second quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC grew its position in Amgen by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Amgen by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research focuses on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, nephrology and neuroscience.

The company’s products include biologic and specialty medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases, Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis, Xgeva for skeletal-related complications, Repatha for cardiovascular risk reduction, Otezla for inflammatory conditions, Tezspire for severe asthma, Blincyto for certain blood cancers, and Lumakras for specific cancers.

Founded in 1980, Amgen is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.