Is Amgen Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold as Weight-Loss Drug Trials Kick Off?

Amgen (AMGN) is a biotech company based in California. It specializes in developing treatments for cardiovascular conditions, oncology, hematology, neurology, bone health, nephrology, and more.

Amgen’s stock has grown steadily this year, gaining 20% in 2025. However, shares are still trading roughly 10% below their 52-week high of $346.85. 

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Amgen Tops Estimates

Amgen reported its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4. The pharmaceutical company posted a profit of $627 million, translating to $5.31 per adjusted share. This surpassed the estimated $5.03 per share. Amgen posted a revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, beating analysts’ $8.86 billion estimate.

Looking ahead, the company is guiding for revenue between $34.3 billion and $35.7 billion in 2025, up from $33.4 billion in 2024. The earnings per share forecast is between $10.89 and $12.14, also up from $7.56 in 2024. Amgen is targeting $2.3 billion in capital expenditures and up to $500 million in share repurchases. 

Weight-Loss Drugs Progress Through Clinical Trials 

Amgen has initiated two “critical” late-stage trials for its experimental weight loss injection, MariTide.

MariTide is a monthly injection designed to compete with existing weekly GLP-1 weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY). GLP-1 drugs mimic gut hormones to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar. Approximately 6% of U.S. adults use GLP-1 prescriptions, and the market is expected to be worth over $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.

One Phase 3 trial involves around 3,500 participants who are obese or overweight without Type 2 diabetes, while the second trial includes 999 participants who are obese or overweight and have Type 2 diabetes. The primary goal of both studies is to measure weight loss over 72 weeks, with three target doses of MariTide being tested using dose escalation.

Earlier Phase 2 trials showed that MariTide helped patients with obesity lose up to 20% of their body weight on average over a year, and up to 17% for patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, with no weight loss plateau. More data from the Phase 3 trials will be reported throughout the year.

Analyst Ratings on AMGN Stock 

Analysts are quite positive about the biotech company with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating. Their mean price target of $319.04 is close to the current trading price, while the Street-high price target of $389 implies roughly 24% upside potential. 

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On the date of publication, Ruchi Gupta did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.