Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $278.39, but opened at $313.39. Amgen shares last traded at $313.33, with a volume of 4,053,898 shares.

The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 145.62% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. William Blair raised Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,894 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,968 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $274.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65.

About Amgen

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.