Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 14,151 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 32% compared to the average volume of 10,745 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Amgen from $312.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Amgen from $299.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Argus dropped their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Amgen from $276.00 to $253.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.06.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $231.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $254.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.20. Amgen has a 12-month low of $223.30 and a 12-month high of $296.67.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The medical research company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 359.47% and a net margin of 24.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Amgen will post 17.72 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a $2.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $8.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 7,807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp boosted its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% during the third quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 2,959 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Partners LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.5% in the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 1.0% during the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its stake in Amgen by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.53% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company Profile

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Amgen, Inc is a biotechnology company, which engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of human therapeutics. It operates through Human Therapeutics segment. The company was founded by William K. Bowes, Jr., Franklin Pitcher Johnson, Jr., George B. Rathmann, and Joseph Rubinfeld on April 8, 1980 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA.