Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Amgen shares reached a new 52-week high of $443.57, continuing a strong run well above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have raised several price targets, but the overall consensus remains “Hold” with an average target of $380.43, below the current share price.
• Amgen exceeded quarterly expectations with $6.29 in EPS and $10.05 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share, yielding approximately 2.3% annually.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $443.57 and last traded at $443.5440, with a volume of 1069580 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $439.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Amgen from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Amgen from $345.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $380.43.

Amgen Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $379.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.07.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.62 by $0.67. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The firm had revenue of $10.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 22.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $2.52 per share. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 62.65%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This represents a 28.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total value of $825,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,642,098.28. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Amgen by 36,047.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 298,255,793 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $108,004,388,000 after acquiring an additional 297,430,677 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,838,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,949,296,000 after purchasing an additional 961,975 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,874,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261,544 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,591,403 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,012,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Amgen by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 23,097,711 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,560,249,000 after buying an additional 4,302,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc NASDAQ: AMGN is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen's work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen's commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.

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