In the latest close session, Amgen (AMGN) was up +2.89% at $349.81. The stock’s performance was ahead of the S&P 500’s daily gain of 2.51%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 2.85%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 2.8%.
Coming into today, shares of the world’s largest biotech drugmaker had lost 9.44% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 5.12%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.66%.
The upcoming earnings release of Amgen will be of great interest to investors. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.74, reflecting a 3.27% decrease from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.51 billion, up 4.42% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $22.22 per share and a revenue of $37.86 billion, demonstrating changes of +1.74% and +3.02%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Amgen. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Right now, Amgen possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Amgen has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.3 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 20.4.
It’s also important to note that AMGN currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.39. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday’s trading, the Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.61.
The Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 143, finds itself in the bottom 42% echelons of all 250+ industries.
