Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $387.49 and last traded at $385.79, with a volume of 349272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.76.

Amgen Stock Up 0.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $345.41 and a 200 day moving average of $317.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.78, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.46.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $9.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 148.37% and a net margin of 20.98%.The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.31 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 21.600-23.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,822,000. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in Amgen by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $1,041,000. Finally, Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.