Amgen Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 20th, 2026

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 79,035 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 931% compared to the average volume of 7,664 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Amgen from $345.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Amgen from $410.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Amgen from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $420.00 to $452.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.43.

View Our Latest Research Report on AMGN

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,666,817.72. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total value of $1,194,415.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 22,008 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $22,441,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 17,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Amgen by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,239,549 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $405,717,000 after purchasing an additional 55,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 18,941 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

More Amgen News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets are the main bullish catalysts. Argus raised its target from $375 to $460 and assigned a “buy” rating. Separate reports highlighted favorable views from Mizuho and Cantor Fitzgerald, helping AMGN reach a new 12-month high. Argus analyst rating report Mizuho forecast report Cantor Fitzgerald analyst report
Positive Sentiment: Amgen’s recent quarterly results provide fundamental support: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue increasing 9.5% year over year. Analysts expect full-year 2026 EPS of approximately $22.78, within the company’s guidance range. Amgen results report
Neutral Sentiment: A broader rally in profitable healthcare and biotechnology companies, supported by innovation, obesity treatments and mergers and acquisitions, has improved investor interest in the sector. However, the ETF-focused report offers only indirect support for AMGN. Biotech ETF report
Negative Sentiment: Investors are becoming more selective about obesity-drug developers as companies trim programs that lack differentiation. Reports noted that Amgen has also reduced some early-stage obesity investments, which could temper expectations for a major new growth driver. Obesity investment report

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock traded down $8.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $433.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,894,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,723,564. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $375.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $360.76. The stock has a market cap of $234.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Amgen has a 1-year low of $269.77 and a 1-year high of $443.20.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.62 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen will post 22.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.65%.

Amgen Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.