Sanford C. Bernstein Downgrades Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) to Market Perform

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $335.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.81% from the company’s previous close.

AMGN has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.24.

Amgen Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $329.06. The company had a trading volume of 448,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.28. Amgen has a twelve month low of $261.43 and a twelve month high of $346.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $331.69 and its 200-day moving average is $306.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a return on equity of 162.59% and a net margin of 19.47%.The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,436,703.50. The trade was a 30.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.