Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Amgen has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Other analysts have shown mixed sentiments, with UBS lowering the price target for Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00, while Piper Sandler raised it from $328.00 to $342.00, indicating diverging expectations.
• Currently, 76.50% of Amgen's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Amgen from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.42.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $290.13 on Friday. Amgen has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $335.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The company has a market capitalization of $156.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $286.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.68.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value 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. The trade was a 14.95% 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. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth about $25,000. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3,433.3% in 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. 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.

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