Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Amgen from “Buy” to “Hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with 16 Hold, 10 Buy, 3 Sell and 1 Strong Buy ratings, alongside a consensus price target of $389.71.
• Amgen shares opened at $414.87, up 1.8%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $6.29 and revenue of $10.05 billion, beating expectations and increasing revenue 9.5% year over year.
• Several major institutions increased their Amgen holdings, but insiders sold 6,222 shares worth approximately $2.54 million over the past 90 days. Recent analysts remain mixed, with UBS and Cantor Fitzgerald raising their price targets while Amgen advances a Phase 3 diabetes-drug trial targeting the GLP-1 market.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $427.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $362.00 to $359.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Amgen from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $389.71.

Amgen Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AMGN opened at $414.87 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $412.94 and its 200 day moving average is $372.18. The company has a market capitalization of $224.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41. Amgen has a 12-month low of $288.00 and a 12-month high of $447.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,951,854.40. This 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 available through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,666,817.72. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,222 shares of company stock worth $2,540,926. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Amgen by 4.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,874,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261,544 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,283,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,656,755 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,390,910 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,952,156,000 after purchasing an additional 605,928 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,831,903,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,788,460 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,567,311,000 after purchasing an additional 321,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded Amgen to Buy and raised its price target to $470 from $430, implying further upside from the reported $414.87 share price. The upgrade is the clearest near-term catalyst behind the stock’s strength. Benzinga analyst upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Amgen announced a head-to-head Phase 3 trial for its monthly diabetes drug candidate against semaglutide. Success could strengthen the company’s position in the highly competitive GLP-1 market and provide a significant future growth opportunity, although clinical and commercial risks remain. Amgen monthly diabetes trial article
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Amgen price target to $440 from $400, signaling improved expectations despite maintaining a Hold rating. Cantor Fitzgerald price target report

About Amgen

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and commercial activities focus on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, neuroscience and rare diseases. The company uses biologic research, human genetics and other advanced technologies to develop targeted therapies and supports patients through treatment and disease-management services.

Amgen's portfolio includes medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases; Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis; Xgeva for cancer-related bone complications; Repatha for certain cardiovascular conditions; Otezla for inflammatory diseases; Aimovig for migraine prevention; Tezspire for severe asthma; and Lumakras for certain cancers.

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