Amgen stock edges lower after HSBC rating downgrade and Lp(a) trial setback

Published on 09/14/2026 at 14:43 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Amgen stock slipped as of September 11, 2026 after concerns around a key Lp(a) drug trial that is not even its own. At the same time, HSBC cut its Amgen stock rating to Hold on September 13, 2026 and reduced its price target to USD 425.

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Amgen Inc. stock (ISIN US0311621009) closed at USD 377.35 on Nasdaq on September 11, 2026, leaving the large-cap biotech notably below its recent highs as investors digest an Lp(a) cardiovascular drug trial setback and a fresh downgrade from HSBC.

HSBC trims its view on Amgen

According to Robinhood on September 13, 2026, HSBC analyst Morten Herholdt downgraded Amgen to Hold from Buy and cut his price target to USD 425 from USD 445, signaling a more cautious stance after the recent share pullback.

The Robinhood overview also shows that, across 36 compiled analyst opinions, 56 percent of ratings on Amgen stock are Buy, 33.3 percent are Hold and 11.1 percent are Sell as of mid-September 2026, underlining that despite HSBC’s downgrade, the broader Wall Street stance remains moderately positive on the biotech group.

Lp(a) drug trial setback weighs on sentiment

As Yahoo Finance reported on September 13, 2026, Amgen shares recently fell roughly 5 percent after negative read-through from a late-stage trial of an Lp(a)-lowering cardiovascular drug that is being developed by another company, raising questions about the commercial potential of similar therapies in Amgen’s pipeline.

According to the same Yahoo Finance analysis, hedge fund ownership of Amgen ticked up slightly in the second quarter of 2026, with 66 hedge funds holding positions versus 65 in the first quarter of 2026, indicating that while the Lp(a)-related news has unsettled some investors, institutional interest in Amgen as a defensive healthcare name has not collapsed.

Recent share performance and valuation

Historical data from Investing.com show that Amgen stock closed at USD 377.35 on Nasdaq on September 11, 2026, down 1.34 percent from the prior session after trading between an intraday high of USD 386.99 and a low of USD 377.22 on that day, on a volume of about 2.27 million shares.

The same Investing.com history indicates that Amgen was significantly higher earlier in the month, with a closing price of USD 444.12 on September 3, 2026, so the shares have retreated roughly 15 percent between September 3, 2026 and September 11, 2026, reflecting the combined impact of sector rotation and drug-pipeline concerns.

Per the Robinhood snapshot on September 13, 2026, Amgen’s market capitalization stands at about USD 204 billion, and the stock is trading on a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44 with a dividend yield of 2.63 percent, positioning it as a relatively mature, income-paying biotech compared with more growth-focused peers.

How Amgen compares within healthcare

An overview from The Motley Fool on September 14, 2026 compares Amgen with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and notes that Amgen trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 16.4 times and a price-to-sales ratio of 5.6 times, whereas Vertex commands a richer valuation of 41.5 times forward earnings and a 10.8 times price-to-sales ratio.

The comparison implies that despite the recent volatility, Amgen stock is valued more conservatively than some high-growth biotechnology peers, which may appeal to investors looking for exposure to innovative therapies but with a stronger cash-flow base and a lower starting valuation than pure high-growth names.

According to the same Motley Fool piece, the author ultimately prefers Vertex for long-term growth potential, but the relative valuation data underscore that Amgen’s current share price already embeds a degree of caution about its pipeline and patent-expiry risks, which is relevant context when assessing the impact of the Lp(a)-related setback and HSBC’s downgrade.

Momentum and sector positioning into the next week

A market-pattern update from TrendSpider on September 14, 2026 highlights that since 2010 Amgen has historically shown an 81 percent win rate for the trading week ahead, with an average gain of about 1.4 percent, suggesting that statistically the stock has often bounced after short-term pullbacks.

That historical pattern does not guarantee performance, but for investors watching Amgen’s technical setup after the roughly 15 percent drop from September 3, 2026 to September 11, 2026, it adds context that past episodes of weakness were frequently followed by modest recoveries, particularly when the fundamental story did not materially deteriorate beyond specific trial headlines.

In addition, a Zacks commentary from Zacks on September 14, 2026 assigns Amgen a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which in their framework reflects positive earnings estimate revisions and suggests that the company’s near-term earnings outlook remains favorable relative to many other medical stocks despite recent share-price pressure.

Stock level and investor takeaway

Amgen stock last closed at USD 377.35 on Nasdaq on September 11, 2026, roughly 15 percent below its early-September closing level of USD 444.12, and with a market value of about USD 204 billion the company remains one of the largest global biopharmaceutical players.