Alps Advisors Inc. Buys 17,390 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Amgen stake 82.8% in the third quarter, buying 17,390 shares to hold 38,384 shares valued at about $16.2 million.
• Amgen reported quarterly EPS of $6.45 and revenue of $10.37 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue rose 8.5% year over year.
• Analyst views remain mixed: Amgen has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $420.80, despite some firms raising their targets.

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,384 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,390 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $16,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rational Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA lifted its stake in Amgen by 13.6% during the third quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 209 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Amgen by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total transaction of $825,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,098.28. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $430.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $452.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $378.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $395.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $420.80.

Key Amgen News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $460.42 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $312.39 and a twelve month high of $483.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $422.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $378.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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