#10 - Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Amgen (AMGN) has presented a bit of a puzzle to analysts. On the one hand, their top line has slowed because their former top drug, Embrel, has seen its revenue slow. However, the drug is still on pace to generate $4.2 billion in sales in 2018. Furthermore, Amgen projects that it will maintain exclusivity with Embrel through 2029. The company also has released a new migraine drug, Aimovig, which they are hoping will buoy the top line. For all the concern about their top line, Amgen released their second-quarter earnings on July 26 and beat estimates. Furthermore, analysts have Amgen rated as a consensus buy and their stock price is forecast to have a 6.2 percent upgrade in 2018. The company also issued a $1.32 per share dividend, equating to a 2.77% dividend yield.
Furthermore, the company is in one of a handful of recession-proof industries. Consumers need their medicines and that is one area where they are unlikely to scale back. This was evident in 2008 when Amgen posted a 24.3 percent return, outperforming the S&P 500 by 62.8 percent.
About Amgen
Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.
More about Amgen- Current Price
- $282.64
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Ratings Breakdown
- 12 Buy Ratings, 9 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $314.91 (11.4% Upside)
Fainthearted investors don’t like to hear the words “bear market” and “recession”. To avoid the roller coaster of seeing the value of their portfolio temporarily drop, they may opt out of the market altogether. But savvy investors know that bear markets and global recessions give investors the opportunity to buy quality stocks at tremendous discounts. The question is knowing which recession-proof businesses to pick.
Some of the recession proof stocks on this list have a history of not only paying a dividend but taking care that it is steady or increasing every year. Others have lower a price-to-earnings ratio than the broader market. All of them play in the sectors that are the most immune from recessions. People will still eat fast food, they’ll get their prescriptions, and they will still buy their consumer staples. And if you look to invest in these companies, your portfolio will be well positioned to help carry your portfolio through a recession--regardless of what the stock market does.
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