Amgen Inc. (AMGN), headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics. With a market cap of $212.2 billion, the company focuses on human therapeutics and concentrates on innovating novel medicines based on cellular and molecular biology.
Shares of this drug manufacturing giant have outperformed the broader market over the past year. AMGN has gained 27.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 14.8%. In 2026, AMGN stock is up 18.4%, surpassing the SPX’s 6.9% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, AMGN’s underperformance is apparent compared to the Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 47.6% over the past year. However, AMGN’s returns on a YTD basis outshine the ETF’s 17% gains over the same time frame.
Amgen has experienced mixed performance as strong product volume growth in core drugs like Repatha and excitement surrounding its pipeline candidates, such as obesity drug MariTide, have been offset by significant headwinds. In addition, high debt levels following major acquisitions like Horizon Therapeutics, coupled with legal overhangs and looming patent expirations on legacy drugs facing biosimilar competition, have squeezed valuation multiples and kept investor sentiment cautious.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect AMGN’s EPS to grow 2.2% to $22.31 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 35 analysts covering AMGN stock, the consensus is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 13 “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” 17 “Holds,” one “Moderate Sell,” and two “Strong Sells.”
The configuration has been relatively stable over the past three months.
On Jul. 23, Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen maintained a “Hold” rating on AMGN and set a price target of $335.
While AMGN currently trades above its mean price target of $361.29, the Street-high price target of $427 suggests an upside potential of 10.2%.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.