Stock Update: Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) – UK cost agency rejects Amgen’s virus-based cancer drug

[Reuters – UK Focus] – A first-in-class melanoma drug from Amgen based on a tumour-killing virus has been deemed not worth using on Britain’s state health service by the country’s cost-effectiveness agency NICE. The National … Read more on this. Amgen Inc. (AMGN) , currently valued at $107.41B, started trading this morning at $144.84. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $141.93 to $147.00 and has traded between $130.09 and $181.81 over the past year. AMGN shares are currently priced at 13.24x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -2.56x forward p/e ratio. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $4.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.77%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 20 sell-side analysts are looking at $2.59 per share, which would be $0.11 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential increase. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $10.82 would be a $0.44 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $5.29 Billion. If reported, that would be a 5.17% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Citigroup Initiated AMGN at Neutral (Feb 25, 2016). Previously, Credit Suisse Initiated AMGN at to Outperform. The average price target for AMGN shares by the analysts covering it is $180.65, which is 24.72% above where the stock opened. See more in (NASDAQ:AMGN) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) – Unilife and Amgen Enter Strategic Collaboration for Injectable Drug Delivery Systems Stock Update: Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) – Amgen, Cytokinetics heart failure drug succeeds in mid-stage study Market Update (NASDAQ:AMGN): Amgen wins EU green light for first virus-based cancer drug