Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 26,309 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Amgen Inc. by 13.2%, acquiring an additional 26,309 shares, bringing its total holdings to 226,219 shares valued at $70.48 million.
• The overall percentage of Amgen stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds stands at 76.50%, reflecting a significant interest in the company from large financial entities.
• Amgen reported a EPS of $4.90 in its recent quarterly earnings, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 9.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,219 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 26,309 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Amgen were worth $70,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 7.2% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 93,240 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares during the period. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $404,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Amgen by 11.9% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 49,920 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,552,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares during the period. Finally, Hamel Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 6.1% in the first quarter. Hamel Associates Inc. now owns 17,771 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $306.58 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $289.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.70. The company has a market cap of $164.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $340.89.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.27.

About Amgen

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.

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