91,234 Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies cut its Amgen stake by 38%, selling 91,234 shares in the third quarter. It retained 148,545 shares, valued at $62.6 million at the reporting period’s end.
• Analyst sentiment was mostly neutral: 18 analysts rated the stock a Hold, and the average price target was $422.76. Amgen shares opened at $468.11 in the article.
• Amgen beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Separately, its investigational Sjögren’s disease drug met the primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial, though it still requires further development and regulatory review.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,545 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 91,234 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for 0.5% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $62,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 60,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 18,976 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,846 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,258,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 15,509 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,537,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Amgen from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $359.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $415.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $445.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $422.76.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $468.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $253.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $312.39 and a 1-year high of $483.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $424.39 and its 200-day moving average is $380.01.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 114.99% and a net margin of 24.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Key Amgen News

Here's some of the latest news about AMGN:

• Positive Sentiment: Dazodalibep met the primary endpoint in the 648-patient OASIZ-301 trial, with both dosing regimens producing statistically significant reductions in systemic disease activity versus placebo over 48 weeks. Amgen also reported clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported symptoms, potentially positioning the drug in a disease area with no approved treatments. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: The positive data may improve dazodalibep’s commercial prospects, but it remains investigational; further development and regulatory review are needed before it can generate sales. Amgen announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the encouraging results, some coverage reported that Amgen shares slipped, indicating investors may be taking a cautious or “sell-the-news” approach rather than immediately pricing in the drug’s longer-term potential. MSN article

Amgen Profile

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. Bradway, who has served as its chief executive officer since 2012.

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