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Amgen could have a strong year as the turbulence of 2019 fades into the rearview, according to a Wednesday afternoon note by Citi analyst Mohit Bansal.<\/p>\n
Bansal, who rates the stock a Buy, increased his price target to $275 per share from $245. Shares of Amgen (ticker: AMGN) closed on Wednesday at $236.75.<\/p>\n
We think in 2020 the company could do more than just catching up with the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index as the setup looks even better this time versus 2019, he wrote.<\/p>\n
Bansal argued that uncertainty around sales drop-offs for Amgen products now facing biosimilar competition had passed, and that the acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibbs (BMY) psoriasis drug Otezla would boost Amgens growth.<\/p>\n
The back story. Shares of Amgen are up 16.2% over the past 12 months, and down 2.3% so far in 2020. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology exchange-traded fund (IBB) is up 10% over the past 12 months and down 1.4% so far this year.<\/p>\n
Whats new. In his note, Bansal argued that the AMGN story has more room to run. He said that the companys price\/earnings ratio, which is now around 15, is in line with the Big Pharma companies, despite analysts expecting a higher rate of growth from Amgen.<\/p>\n
We think the setup looks better for AMGN in 2020 as there is less uncertainty this time around, he wrote.<\/p>\n
Bansal noted that the company is expecting a number of major catalysts in 2020, including data on lung-cancer, asthma, psoriasis, and heart-failure treatments.<\/p>\n
He also said that the resolution of an intellectual property case around Amgens Enbrel in the companys favor cleared a major overhang and made the stock easy to own.<\/p>\n
Looking forward. Amgen shares were down 1.1%, at $234.07, in recent trading, while the S&P 500 was down 0.2%. The company will announce its fourth-quarter earnings next Thursday, Jan. 30, after the market closes.<\/p>\n
Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Continue reading here: Text size Amgen could have a strong year as the turbulence of 2019 fades into the rearview, according to a Wednesday afternoon note by Citi analyst Mohit Bansal. Bansal, who rates the stock a Buy, increased his price target to $275 per share from $245 Continue reading
\nAmgen Stock Is Poised to Gain in 2020, Analyst Says. Heres Why. - Barron's<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"