Short Interest in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Grows By 13.6%

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 11,140,000 shares, an increase of 13.6% from the November 15th total of 9,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.68.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $270.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.55. Amgen has a 1 year low of $257.80 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued 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 return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.