Why Amgen (AMGN) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term

Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores. What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.Investors can count on the Zacks Rank's success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +25.41% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500's performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.That's where the Style Scores come in.To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.As mentioned above, the Scores are designed to work with the Zacks Rank, so any change to a company's earnings outlook should be a deciding factor when picking which stocks to buy.For instance, a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one that boasts Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings forecast, and a much greater likelihood its share price will decline as well.Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better. Stock to Watch: Amgen (AMGN) Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen is one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, with a strong presence in the oncology/hematology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, inflammation, bone health and nephrology and neuroscience markets. The company used advances in cellular and molecular biology to develop two of the biotech industry’s earliest and most successful drugs, Epogen (anemia) and Neupogen (white blood cell stimulant). Amgen successfully launched two next-generation products, Aranesp and Neulasta.  Meanwhile, the acquisition of Immunex Corporation gave Amgen access to the multi-blockbuster drug, Enbrel. However, all these older drugs are facing declining sales due to biosimilar or branded competition, which is being somewhat offset by its blockbuster growth drugs like Prolia and Xgeva. Other products are Repatha, Blincyto, Vectibix, Nplate, Kyprolis, Evenity, Otezla, Aimovig, Lumakras/Lumykras, Tezspire, Tavneos and Kanjinti, Mvasi and Amgevita biosimilars.AMGN is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 14.85; value investors should take notice.10 analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2024, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.03 to $19.52 per share. AMGN also boasts an average earnings surprise of 4.1%.With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, AMGN should be on investors' short list.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks