Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 2,078.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,011 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 185,107 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $60,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.82.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $3.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $294.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,967,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,923. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $158.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $285.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Amgen

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