Traders Purchase Large Volume of Amgen Call Options (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 21,787 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,254 call options.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $15.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $304.26. 2,680,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,111,791. The stock has a market cap of $163.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $271.14 and its 200-day moving average is $303.52. Amgen has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen will post 19.56 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Amgen by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 19,386 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,053,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Fusion Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 23,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,204,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its position in Amgen by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 2,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.00.

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.