Alps Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,601 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth $1,331,000. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 7.3% in the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,461,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 914,380 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $238,316,000 after buying an additional 19,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $4.52 on Tuesday, reaching $292.51. 1,592,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,836,221. The company has a market cap of $157.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $283.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $328.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.