Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is in focus on December 16, 2025, as investors weigh a fresh dividend raise, recent regulatory momentum, and a pipeline narrative that stretches from cardiovascular outcomes to the high-stakes obesity race.
As of Dec. 16, 2025 (18:00 UTC), Amgen shares traded around $324.36, slightly lower on the day, with an intraday range roughly between $323.05 and $326.03.
While price action is calm, the story around AMGN is busy—especially for long-term investors looking for a blend of income, defensiveness, and late-stage catalysts.
What’s driving Amgen stock on Dec. 16: dividends back in the spotlight
A key theme circulating in today’s AMGN coverage is income—and Amgen just gave dividend investors a new reason to pay attention.
Amgen raised its quarterly dividend to $2.52 for Q1 2026
Amgen announced that its board declared a $2.52 per share dividend for the first quarter of 2026, payable March 6, 2026, to shareholders of record as of February 13, 2026. [1]
That follows Amgen’s prior $2.38 quarterly dividend for Q4 2025 (paid December 12, 2025, record date November 21, 2025). [2]
On several market-data trackers, this puts Amgen’s annualized dividend around $10.08, with a yield near ~3.1%, and the next ex-dividend date shown as Feb. 13, 2026. [3]
AMGN also landed on “top Dow dividend yields” lists today
In a Dec. 16 feature focused on the Dow’s highest yields heading into 2026, Amgen is cited around a ~3% yield, alongside names like Verizon, Chevron, Merck, and Coca-Cola. That same coverage highlights Amgen’s growth drivers (notably Repatha and Tezspire) and notes the company has increased its annual dividend every year since it started paying one in 2011, with a payout ratio described as under 50%. [4]
Why it matters for the stock: Dividend hikes can act as a sentiment stabilizer—especially for mega-cap biopharma names—because they signal management confidence in cash-flow durability and can pull in a different investor base (income funds, dividend growth screens, and “defensive yield” allocators).
The pipeline and regulatory narrative: gMG approval adds another growth lever
Beyond the dividend story, Amgen’s near-term investor narrative continues to center on new indications, durable franchises, and pipeline conversion.
FDA approval: UPLIZNA expanded into generalized myasthenia gravis
A notable recent catalyst (still “fresh” in the market’s read-through this week) is the FDA approval of UPLIZNA (inebilizumab-cdon) for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) who are anti-AChR or anti-MuSK antibody-positive. The announcement emphasizes the therapy’s twice-yearly dosing and positions it as a CD19-targeted B-cell therapy option for this autoimmune neuromuscular disease. [5]
Investor angle: While gMG is not an obesity-scale market, label expansions matter for big biopharma because they can extend a product’s lifecycle, improve asset utilization, and help offset erosion elsewhere.
Repatha remains a major commercial engine—and the evidence base keeps improving
Amgen’s cardiovascular franchise has been an important support for AMGN’s 2025 performance, and recent developments reinforce that.
Landmark outcomes data: Repatha reduced major events in “primary prevention”
Reuters reported new outcomes evidence indicating Repatha reduced major cardiovascular events by 25% in high-risk patients without a prior heart attack or stroke—an important point because it expands the addressable population for payers and prescribers. Reuters also notes that in August, the FDA broadened Repatha’s approval to include adults at increased risk of major cardiovascular events due to uncontrolled LDL cholesterol, removing a prior requirement tied to established cardiovascular disease. [6]
Direct-to-consumer push: $239/month cash price via AmgenNow
Pricing and access are also part of the Repatha story. Reuters reported that Amgen launched a direct-to-consumer pathway offering Repatha at a $239/month cash price—nearly 60% below list price—as political pressure increased for lower U.S. drug prices and more transparent channels. [7]
Amgen’s own press release on the AmgenNow program reiterates the $239/month price point, frames it as a broader access initiative, and describes the program as open to patients including those who are uninsured or paying out of pocket. [8]
Why investors care: Repatha sits at the intersection of (1) strong clinical evidence, (2) payer realities, and (3) U.S. drug pricing politics. Better outcomes data can improve coverage decisions—while pricing initiatives can expand access but also raise long-term margin questions.
MariTide and the obesity race: the biggest “watch next” into year-end
For many investors, Amgen’s most important medium-term swing factor is still MariTide, its once-monthly (or less frequent) obesity candidate.
What we know from 2025: strong results, intense competition, and Q4 timing
Reuters reported that when Amgen posted Q3 results, it said it expected data before year-end from two key mid-stage MariTide studies (obesity/overweight with or without type 2 diabetes, and a type 2 diabetes study), while also noting progress in Phase 3 enrollment. [9]
Amgen’s own communications have positioned MariTide as a potentially differentiated option, with Phase 2 data showing up to about ~20% average weight loss in adults with obesity without type 2 diabetes (versus placebo) and up to ~17% in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, with weight loss not plateauing by 52 weeks. [10]
Meanwhile, competitive pressure remains fierce. In the broader obesity category, Reuters recently highlighted Eli Lilly’s next-generation obesity drug showing very high weight-loss results in a late-stage setting—one more reminder that the “obesity bar” keeps rising. [11]
What that means for AMGN: Even if Amgen’s core franchises are stable, obesity is where the market assigns the largest optionality. If late-2025 readouts are strong on efficacy/tolerability and dosing convenience, sentiment can improve quickly. If results disappoint versus a rapidly advancing competitive set, AMGN can derate—regardless of the dividend.
Earnings and fundamentals: Q3 beat, guidance raised, cash flow remains the backbone
Amgen’s latest financial narrative still underpins the stock’s defensive appeal.
Q3 2025: beat-and-raise
Reuters reported that Amgen’s third-quarter revenue rose 12% year over year to $9.56 billion, ahead of expectations, while adjusted EPS was $5.64 (also above consensus). Amgen also raised full-year guidance to $35.8–$36.6 billion in revenue and $20.60–$21.40 in adjusted EPS. [12]
Profitability and balance sheet snapshot
Aggregated financial summaries show Amgen produced roughly $35.97B in revenue over the last 12 months, with profits around $7.01B, and free cash flow around $11.54B. Those same summaries also show meaningful leverage (about $54.59B in debt vs. $9.45B cash), which is one reason investors watch pricing and patent cycles closely. [13]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: modest upside, but mixed consensus
On Dec. 16, “where analysts think AMGN goes next” depends heavily on which consensus dataset you use.
MarketBeat: “Moderate Buy,” average target $332.85
MarketBeat’s compiled view lists a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” based on 22 analysts, with an average 12‑month target of $332.85, a high target of $425, and a low of $272. [14]
StockAnalysis: “Hold,” target $315.31
StockAnalysis’ analyst summary shows a “Hold” consensus and an average 12‑month target around $315.31 (based on a smaller set of analysts in that snapshot). [15]
How to read this: The spread between a “Hold / $315” view and a “Moderate Buy / $333” view is a reminder that targets are not uniform truth—they depend on which firms are counted, how recent updates are weighted, and whether outlier targets are included.
Technical and momentum lens: AMGN improving, but not “leader” territory
From a momentum/relative strength perspective, Investor’s Business Daily noted that Amgen’s RS Rating improved to 71 (from 66), reflecting strengthening 52‑week performance—but still below levels often associated with top breakouts. [16]
Risks investors are weighing right now
A full AMGN stock outlook on Dec. 16 isn’t complete without the counterweights:
- Patent cliffs and biosimilar pressure. Commentary in recent coverage points to lost exclusivity on major products (such as denosumab, sold as Prolia/Xgeva) and the importance of pipeline/product diversification to offset erosion. [17]
- Pricing pressure and policy risk. The Repatha cash-price move is directly tied to U.S. drug pricing politics and could foreshadow more pressure across the sector. [18]
- Obesity competition risk. The field is moving fast, with competitors showing very strong late-stage results—raising expectations for everyone else. [19]
- Balance sheet leverage. Debt levels are meaningful, which can amplify the impact of any growth hiccup or margin compression. [20]
What to watch next for Amgen stock into early 2026
Heading into the final stretch of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, the market’s AMGN checklist is fairly clear:
- MariTide updates (especially any late-2025 data readouts referenced by management and prior reporting). [21]
- Repatha adoption and payer behavior following new outcomes evidence and broadened labeling. [22]
- Dividend follow-through as income investors re-screen the Dow and large-cap pharma/biotech universe for yield plus growth. [23]
- Analyst revisions if new clinical data or commercial updates shift long-term modeling (especially around obesity and durable CV franchises). [24]
Bottom line (Dec. 16, 2025): Amgen looks like a “defensive growth + income” name with a catalyst kicker
On December 16, 2025, Amgen stock is being shaped by a clear blend of factors:
- A new dividend increase that reinforces AMGN’s appeal as an income-oriented large-cap healthcare holding, [25]
- Regulatory and clinical progress (UPLIZNA in gMG; Repatha outcomes and broader use), [26]
- And the looming question investors keep coming back to: can MariTide carve out a differentiated obesity position in a market where the performance bar keeps rising? [27]
References
1. www.amgen.com, 2. www.prnewswire.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. www.fool.com, 5. www.amgen.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.amgen.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.amgen.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. stockanalysis.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. stockanalysis.com, 16. www.investors.com, 17. www.fool.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.amgen.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. www.amgen.com, 26. www.amgen.com, 27. www.reuters.com
