QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Amgen stake by 14.3% in the second quarter, adding 13,523 shares to own 107,906 shares valued at approximately $36.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.5% of Amgen’s stock.
• Analysts remain mixed, with Amgen carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $383.46. Recent targets ranged from $345 to $460, reflecting differing views on the company’s growth prospects.
• Amgen reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $6.29 in EPS and $10.05 billion in revenue, while positive Phase 3 results for dazodalibep could expand its autoimmune-drug pipeline. Shares traded near $406, supported by momentum but above the consensus target and with some analysts citing valuation and approval uncertainty.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,906 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 13,523 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $36,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Rational Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.4% during the second quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,956 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 4,129 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AMGN. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Amgen from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Amgen from $343.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Argus lifted their target price on Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $383.46.

Key Stories Impacting Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported positive topline results from the Phase 3 OASIZ 301 trial. Dazodalibep achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoint—change in disease activity from baseline at week 48—in adults with moderate-to-severe systemic Sjögren’s disease. Amgen's autoimmune drug succeeds in late-stage trial
• Positive Sentiment: The results raised hopes that dazodalibep could become an important new autoimmune-disease product, potentially expanding Amgen’s long-term revenue base. Reports said the treatment showed sustained improvement through week 48. AMGN's Dazodalibep Meets Goal in Systemic Sjogren's Disease Study
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its Amgen price target to $410 from $367 following the data, while Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and $450 target. The favorable views reinforce the perception that Amgen’s pipeline may support further upside. Amgen price target raised by Jefferies
• Neutral Sentiment: Amgen’s shares have recently traded near the $406 level, above the 50-day moving average of $403.52 and well above the 200-day average of $368.01, indicating strong longer-term momentum but also a relatively elevated valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America kept an Underperform rating and $317 price target, citing uncertainty around the dazodalibep data. Citi also flagged open questions, while approval filing is expected to depend on results from another trial. Amgen Underperform Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group slightly reduced its FY2027 earnings estimate to $24.36 per share from $24.43, underscoring that near-term earnings expectations have not materially improved despite the pipeline news.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $406.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,814,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,001. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $403.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.01. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.77 and a fifty-two week high of $447.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.43.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.62 by $0.67. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The company had revenue of $10.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.65%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total transaction of $1,194,415.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This represents a 28.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research focuses on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, nephrology and rare diseases. The company uses biologic research, genetics and other advanced technologies to develop treatments intended to address significant unmet medical needs.

Amgen's medicines include Enbrel for certain inflammatory diseases; Prolia and Evenity for bone-related conditions; Xgeva for complications associated with cancer and bone disease; Repatha for cardiovascular risk reduction; Otezla for inflammatory conditions; and Aimovig for migraine prevention.

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