Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AMGN. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.68.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $258.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.55. Amgen has a 12-month low of $257.80 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $298.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Amgen will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 121.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 0.6% during the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in Amgen by 1.3% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unionview LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.