Amgen (AMGN) closed at $325.31 in the latest trading session, marking a +2.38% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.16% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.09%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.59%.
The world's largest biotech drugmaker's shares have seen a decrease of 5.64% over the last month, not keeping up with the Medical sector's gain of 1.12% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.21%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Amgen in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.74, reflecting a 10.73% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $9.47 billion, indicating a 4.18% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
AMGN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $21.28 per share and revenue of $36.35 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +7.26% and +8.76%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Amgen. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.24% higher. Right now, Amgen possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Amgen's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 14.93. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.17.
Investors should also note that AMGN has a PEG ratio of 2.87 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.66 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, positioning it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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