Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised the target price for Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from $330.00 to $333.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.29% from the current stock price, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Amgen's stock is currently trading down 5.4% at approximately $283.91, with a market cap of $152.66 billion and various analysts providing mixed ratings and target prices.
• In its latest earnings report, Amgen surpassed expectations with an EPS of $6.02, beating the consensus estimate by $0.74, and reported revenue growth of 9.4% year-over-year.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $330.00 to $333.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the medical research company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.29% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AMGN. Citigroup raised their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.00.

Amgen Stock Down 5.4%

AMGN stock traded down $16.18 on Wednesday, hitting $283.91. 2,597,541 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,901,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $293.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.45. The stock has a market cap of $152.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $339.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Amgen by 87.1% during the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,331,000. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,384,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 914,380 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $238,316,000 after purchasing an additional 19,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 21,382 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,662,000 after acquiring an additional 4,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Company 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.

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