Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target Raised to $425.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $350.00 to $425.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Amgen from $452.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Amgen from $303.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.80.

Amgen Stock Up 0.0%

Amgen stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $460.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,579,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,150. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.43. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $312.39 and a fifty-two week high of $483.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $422.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $378.19. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $10.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $2.52 dividend. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total transaction of $825,140.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMGN. State Street Corp raised its stake in Amgen by 38.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,283,363,000 after buying an additional 11,656,755 shares during the last quarter. MW Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $1,054,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.6% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 339,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $123,057,000 after acquiring an additional 5,496 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Amgen by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 13,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,696,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,329,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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.