Amgen Options Trading: A Deep Dive into Market Sentiment

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Amgen AMGN.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with AMGN, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 12 uncommon options trades for Amgen.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 16% bullish and 75%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $298,350, and 7 are calls, for a total amount of $331,070.

What's The Price Target?

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $300.0 to $325.0 for Amgen over the recent three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.

This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Amgen's options for a given strike price.

Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Amgen's whale activity within a strike price range from $300.0 to $325.0 in the last 30 days.

Amgen Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Amgen

Amgen is a leader in biotechnology-based human therapeutics. Flagship drugs include red blood cell boosters Epogen and Aranesp, immune system boosters Neupogen and Neulasta, and Enbrel and Otezla for inflammatory diseases. Amgen introduced its first cancer therapeutic, Vectibix, in 2006 and markets bone-strengthening drug Prolia/Xgeva (approved 2010) and Evenity (2019). The acquisition of Onyx bolstered the firm's therapeutic oncology portfolio with Kyprolis. Recent launches include Repatha (cholesterol-lowering), Aimovig (migraine), Lumakras (lung cancer), and Tezspire (asthma). The 2023 Horizon acquisition brings several rare-disease drugs, including thyroid eye disease drug Tepezza. Amgen also has a growing biosimilar portfolio.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Amgen, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Amgen's Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 484,318, the AMGN's price is up by 1.37%, now at $316.79.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 82 days.

Expert Opinions on Amgen

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $346.2.

• An analyst from Oppenheimer persists with their Outperform rating on Amgen, maintaining a target price of $380.
• An analyst from Deutsche Bank has revised its rating downward to Hold, adjusting the price target to $305.
• An analyst from B of A Securities has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Amgen, which currently sits at a price target of $330.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from TD Cowen continues to hold a Buy rating for Amgen, targeting a price of $381.
• An analyst from Wells Fargo downgraded its action to Equal-Weight with a price target of $335.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Amgen, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.