Short Interest in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Increases By 11.2%

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,810,000 shares, an increase of 11.2% from the October 31st total of 8,820,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $278.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $309.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.66. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $149.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.55. Amgen has a 52-week low of $257.80 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen will post 19.51 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 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given 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, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 33,125.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,437,115,000 after buying an additional 4,446,757 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 6,812.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,130,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 561.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,982 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 9,058.1% in the second quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 756,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $223,897,000 after purchasing an additional 748,200 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 11.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,657,183,000 after buying an additional 538,545 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.