Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $318.89, but opened at $311.39. Amgen shares last traded at $311.80, with a volume of 534,392 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMGN. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.23 billion, a PE ratio of 41.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.43.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.