Thousand Oaks-based Amgen Inc.’s stock experienced a significant rise on Monday following news that Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the biotech giant with a buy recommendation.
The buy rating and a price target of $258 was given by Analyst Salveen Richter, who cited Amgen’s inflammation products, biosimilars and oncology portfolio.
Amgen’s stock was up as much as 4.4 percent early Monday but ended the day closer to 3 percent. The jump in price and buy rating from Goldman Sachs comes after the company’s stock declined significantly from around $244 in August to $198 in late November.
One of Amgen’s newest additions to its oncology portfolio this year was the non-small cell lung cancer drug Lumakras. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration this year and mainly limited to the United States, the drug accounted for $36 million in sales in its first full quarter, which was the third.
Richter said that Lumakras, alongside four other biosimilars, will add to Amgen’s growth in the next few years. He added that Amgen is trading at a discount compared to its competitors.
Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed up $6.35, or 3.1 percent, to $208.79 on the Nasdaq Monday, a day when the market closed up more than 1 percent.