Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stake Lessened by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its Amgen stake by 11.7% in the third quarter, selling 102,278 shares and retaining 770,033 shares valued at about $325 million.
• Amgen reported quarterly earnings of $6.45 per share and revenue of $10.37 billion, beating analyst estimates; revenue rose 8.5% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share.
• Analyst views are mixed, with 18 Hold ratings among 33 analysts and an average price target of $420.80; some firms raised targets while others maintained cautious ratings.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770,033 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 102,278 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.14% of Amgen worth $324,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 31.7% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Amgen by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,805 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,976,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 13.1% in the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Amgen by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen News Roundup

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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 $2,642,098.28. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Amgen from $380.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on Amgen from $452.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Amgen from $430.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $420.80.

Amgen Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $460.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The stock has a market cap of $249.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $422.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $378.19. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $312.39 and a fifty-two week high of $483.99.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

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

Amgen Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.