Leerink Partners Cuts Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target to $302.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price objective cut by Leerink Partners from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning.

AMGN has been the subject of several other reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.05.

Amgen Trading Up 1.0 %

Amgen stock opened at $282.87 on Wednesday. Amgen has a 52 week low of $257.80 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $311.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The company has a market capitalization of $152.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,240,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the first quarter valued at $152,000. Redwood Grove Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 47,687 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,558,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 268.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 233,379 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,355,000 after purchasing an additional 170,108 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 151.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 70,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 42,739 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.