Is Amgen Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold as Weight-Loss Drug Trials Kick Off?
Amgen (AMGN) is a biotech company based in California. It specializes in developing treatments for cardiovascular conditions, oncology, hematology, neurology, bone health, nephrology, and more.
Amgen's stock has grown steadily this year, gaining 20% in 2025. However, shares are still trading roughly 10% below their 52-week high of $346.85.
Amgen Tops Estimates
Amgen reported its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4. The pharmaceutical company posted a profit of $627 million, translating to $5.31 per adjusted share. This surpassed the estimated $5.03 per share. Amgen posted a revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, beating analysts' $8.86 billion estimate.
Looking ahead, the company is guiding for revenue between $34.3 billion and $35.7 billion in 2025, up from $33.4 billion in 2024. The earnings per share forecast is between $10.89 and $12.14, also up from $7.56 in 2024. Amgen is targeting $2.3 billion in capital expenditures and up to $500 million in share repurchases.
Weight-Loss Drugs Progress Through Clinical Trials
Amgen has initiated two 'critical' late-stage trials for its experimental weight loss injection, MariTide.
MariTide is a monthly injection designed to compete with existing weekly GLP-1 weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY). GLP-1 drugs mimic gut hormones to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar. Approximately 6% of U.S. adults use GLP-1 prescriptions, and the market is expected to be worth over $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.
One Phase 3 trial involves around 3,500 participants who are obese or overweight without Type 2 diabetes, while the second trial includes 999 participants who are obese or overweight and have Type 2 diabetes. The primary goal of both studies is to measure weight loss over 72 weeks, with three target doses of MariTide being tested using dose escalation.
Earlier Phase 2 trials showed that MariTide helped patients with obesity lose up to 20% of their body weight on average over a year, and up to 17% for patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, with no weight loss plateau. More data from the Phase 3 trials will be reported throughout the year.
Analyst Ratings on AMGN Stock
Analysts are quite positive about the biotech company with a 'Moderate Buy' consensus rating. Their mean price target of $319.04 is close to the current trading price, while the Street-high price target of $389 implies roughly 24% upside potential.
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