Amgen (AMGN) Price Target Cut to $196.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $204.00 to $196.00 in a research report issued on Friday. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AMGN. Piper Jaffray Companies dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday. BidaskClub raised shares of Amgen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $184.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $205.00 price target on shares of Amgen and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) traded up $1.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $187.01. 7,029,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,880,000. Amgen has a 1 year low of $152.16 and a 1 year high of $201.23. The firm has a market cap of $135,750.00, a PE ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 5.72, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by ($0.14). Amgen had a net margin of 35.54% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Amgen’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts predict that Amgen will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

In other news, Director Carbonnel Francois De sold 4,000 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.61, for a total transaction of $694,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean E. Harper sold 1,525 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.62, for a total value of $283,070.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,575 shares of company stock worth $1,508,836. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 641 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $110,000. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 729 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Amgen by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 731 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers various human therapeutics. It operates in human therapeutics segment. Its marketed products portfolio includes Neulasta (pegfilgrastim); erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), such as Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and EPOGEN (epoetin alfa); Sensipar/Mimpara (cinacalcet); XGEVA (denosumab); Prolia (denosumab); NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), and other marketed products, such as KYPROLIS (carfilzomib), Vectibix (panitumumab), Nplate (romiplostim), Repatha (evolocumab), BLINCYTO (blinatumomab), IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec) and Corlanor (ivabradine).