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Amgen Inc. (AMGN), headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics. With a market cap of $165.5 billion, the company focuses on human therapeutics and concentrates on innovating novel medicines based on cellular and molecular biology.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and AMGN perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the general drug manufacturers industry. AMGN has a diverse and innovative product portfolio, including blockbuster drugs like Prolia, ENBREL, and XGEVA. Amgen's robust pipeline features potential first-in-class medicines. With operations worldwide, Amgen has established a strong market presence and international sales growth, diversifying revenue and mitigating market-specific risks.
Despite its notable strength, AMGN slipped 10.4% from its 52-week high of $346.85, achieved on Jul. 25, 2024. Over the past three months, AMGN stock gained 11.7%, outperforming the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 1.9% gains during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of AMGN rose 19.2% on a YTD basis and climbed 10.9% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming XLV’s YTD gains of 8.7% and 2.2% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bullish trend, AMGN has been trading above its 50-day moving average since late January. The stock is trading above its 200-day moving average since late February, with slight fluctuations.
Amgen's outperformance is attributed to its commitment to biopharmaceutical innovation for the aging population. Amgen is also exploring oncology and cardiovascular disease, with a strong pipeline of new drugs. Strategic acquisitions, like Horizon Therapeutics, enhance its rare disease portfolio. Moreover, the company proactively launches biosimilars to maintain market presence, which drives further growth.
On Feb. 4, AMGN reported its Q4 results and its shares closed up more than 6% in the following trading session. Its adjusted EPS of $5.31 surpassed Wall Street expectations of $5.03. The company’s revenue was $9.1 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $8.9 billion. AMGN expects full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $20 to $21.20, and expects revenue to be between $34.3 billion and $35.7 billion.
In the competitive arena of general drug manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) has taken the lead over AMGN, showing resilience with a 20.4% gain on a YTD basis and an 18.9% uptick over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on AMGN’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 30 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $317.58 suggests a potential upside of 2.2% from current price levels.
