Amgen Inc. faces a challenging year as Bernstein downgrades its stock rating, citing 2026 as a potential 'waiting year' while preparing for an earnings report forecasted to show an 11.1% decline in earnings per share. This comes as the company navigates a lawsuit from Sagebrush Health Services over alleged unlawful termination of drug discounts, adding legal and reputational risks to its outlook. Despite reporting robust revenues of $9.56 billion for the last quarter, outperforming expectations, Amgen must contend with competitive pressures from Merck's new cholesterol treatment and the threat posed by biosimilars.
“BERNSTEIN DOWNGRADES AMGEN, SAYS 2026 COULD BE ‘WAITING YEAR’. Bernstein has downgraded Amgen to Market Perform from Outperform, arguing that 2026 could be a 'waiting year' for the pharma giant and its stock will remain within 15% of its $335 per share target for the rest of the year.”
“Breen also cited competitive pressure on Amgen’s cholesterol drug, Repatha, from Merck’s oral PCSK9 inhibitor, Enlicitide, which is expected to launch in H2.”
“Amgen is expected to post earnings of $4.72 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -11.1%.”
“Amgen reported revenues of $9.56 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +12.4%.”
“In the case of Amgen, the consensus sales estimate of $9.47 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +4.2%.”
“The company's earnings report is expected on February 3, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Amgen to post earnings of $4.72 per share.”
“In terms of valuation, Amgen is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.86. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 19.55 of its industry.”
“Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $21.26 per share and revenue of $36.36 billion, indicating changes of +7.16% and 0%, respectively, compared to the previous year.”
“Sagebrush Health Services has filed a lawsuit in California state court accusing Amgen of unlawfully cutting off 340B discounted drug sales to its Nevada clinics and reclaiming at least US$7,000,000 in past discounts, allegedly disrupting care for low-income and uninsured patients. The case highlights growing legal and reputational risks around how drug makers interact with 340B 'covered entities.'”
“For Amgen, the core investment story still sits with its diversified biologics portfolio, late‑stage assets like the obesity candidate MariTide, and a long record of steady revenues, earnings and dividends, even as growth expectations remain modest and debt elevated.”
“The Sagebrush 340B lawsuit adds a new wrinkle: it pulls Amgen into a politically sensitive area around drug pricing and access, raising some legal and reputational risk, but at this stage it does not appear material to the financial outlook or to near‑term catalysts like oncology and GLP‑1 data.”
“Amgen's shares have been on the rise but are still potentially undervalued by 46%. Find out what it's worth.”