Amgen (AMGN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Amgen (AMGN) closed at $253.37 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.57% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.61%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.45%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.05%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest biotech drugmaker had gained 6.61% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 0.95% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.42% in that time.

Amgen will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.21, up 13.78% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.08 billion, up 2.98% from the year-ago period.

AMGN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $17.67 per share and revenue of $26.1 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +3.33% and +0.48%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Amgen. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.86% higher. Amgen currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Amgen's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 14.26. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.67.

Investors should also note that AMGN has a PEG ratio of 1.51 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.28 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 154, putting it in the bottom 40% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AMGN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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