Amgen (AMGN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Amgen (AMGN) closed at $246.73 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.48% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.16% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.42%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.17%.
Coming into today, shares of the world's largest biotech drugmaker had gained 0.04% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 1.13%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.79%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Amgen as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.41, up 0.68% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.52 billion, down 0.04% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.44 per share and revenue of $26.23 billion, which would represent changes of +1.99% and +0.97%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Amgen. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.41% lower. Amgen is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, Amgen is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.08. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.97, which means Amgen is trading at a discount to the group.
It is also worth noting that AMGN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.11. 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. AMGN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.1 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, which puts it in the top 35% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
