Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from “hold” to “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $387.93.
• Amgen reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $6.29 per share versus the $5.62 consensus estimate and generating $10.05 billion in revenue, up 9.5% year over year.
• Amgen shares opened at $432.49, near their 52-week high of $447.03, while institutional investors owned 76.5% of the company; insiders sold $2.54 million of stock during the latest quarter.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $303.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $415.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $435.00 to $430.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $387.93.

Amgen Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $432.49 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $415.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $374.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. The company has a market capitalization of $233.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. Amgen has a 52-week low of $288.00 and a 52-week high of $447.03.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.62 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 38.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,283,363,000 after buying an additional 11,656,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,831,903,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,102.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,742,271 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $993,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,514,254 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,874,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 702.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,535,257 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $647,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,010 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently 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.

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