New York, February 9, 2026, 15:31 (EST) — Regular session
- Amgen dropped roughly 1.8% in mid-afternoon, dragging on the Dow.
- Drug shares trailed, though biotech ETFs managed to hold their ground.
- Investors are eyeing U.S. jobs numbers coming up Wednesday, then shift focus to CPI data set for Friday—both seen as key catalysts.
Amgen Inc (AMGN) was off 1.8% to $377.28 by mid-afternoon Monday, slipping from its $384.32 finish on Friday. Shares moved between $372.39 and $384.96 during the session.
Amgen shares slipped, putting the stock near the top of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s laggards early on, right up there with Merck. Because the Dow is price-weighted, a $1 swing in one of the higher-priced names—like Amgen—hits the index harder than shifts in the cheaper stocks.
The key here isn’t so much one Amgen update, it’s the calendar. With the tape still jumpy and a full slate of U.S. data landing, traders aren’t hesitating to trim exposure—even in classic defensive plays like the major pharmaceuticals.
Healthcare stocks showed a mixed picture. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund slipped roughly 0.7%. SPDR S&P Biotech ETF barely budged. Amgen’s drop was notable in the group.
Amgen grabbed attention after topping Wall Street’s Q4 forecasts and laying out its 2026 outlook last week. Murdo Gordon, who heads commercial operations, pointed to “dissatisfaction with the weekly GLP-1s”—the diabetes drugs also popular for weight loss—and described MariTide, which can be dosed as little as once every three months, as a “paradigm-changing opportunity.” Citi Research’s Geoffrey Meacham sees the guidance as pointing to “modest upside.” Reuters
Obesity-drug stocks stirred again Monday after Hims & Hers announced plans to halt sales of its compounded semaglutide pill—a pharmacy-made alternative—just as Novo Nordisk revealed it had filed a lawsuit against the telehealth provider. Investors are now watching to see how aggressively regulators and drugmakers intend to target these copycat products.
There’s also fresh trouble for Amgen’s rare-disease therapy Tavneos. Back in January, the FDA requested a voluntary U.S. withdrawal, citing flagged issues with certain re-adjudicated trial endpoints and potential liver-safety problems. Amgen disclosed the move to healthcare providers and told regulators it does not plan to withdraw Tavneos as it looks for a way ahead.
Older brands are showing strains again. Amgen reported a steep 48% drop in Enbrel sales for the fourth quarter, attributing the slide to lower net selling prices after Medicare Part D changes and a greater share going through the 340B discount program, which forces deep price reductions for qualifying hospitals and clinics. The company also flagged steeper declines ahead for Prolia and Xgeva in 2026 as more biosimilars—essentially generic versions of biologic drugs—hit markets worldwide.
The next big data point for traders lands soon, with the U.S. January jobs report set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 11, per the Labor Department’s calendar.
January’s CPI lands at 8:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 13. A surprise in the data could jolt yields, with possible knock-on effects for defensive stocks — think major pharma names such as Amgen.
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