10 Stocks That Will Change the World

6. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2024: 63

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world which is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Its scale, as evidenced by $97 billion in total assets and $10.9 billion in cash means that Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has sufficient resources to target the hot weight loss drugs market. This potential was also at the heart of a 12% share price boost in May, when Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s executives shared their plans for weight loss products. They revealed that the drug had demonstrated promising initial phase two outcomes, and the complete data that should be available at the end of 2024 should most likely lead to a phase three trial. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s drug, MariTide, appears quite promising on the surface as it promises to reduce dosage. However, the industry is quite proliferated with competing products, and any final product from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is years away.

Here’s what Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s management had to say about the drug during its latest earnings call:

“Umer, as you know, this medicine coming out of Phase I showed a quite remarkable impact on obesity with a dramatic reduction in BMI, actually proved quite durable after just three doses, MariTide in that Phase I study, we saw persistent weight loss really out 150 days or more at some doses. The Phase II study is a much larger concern. This is a 592 patient study. It has 11 arms, it has monthly or as Murdo said, even less frequent dosing. As a part two that allows us to really follow up on this durability signal, and it will allow the precision selection of dose or doses that patients and their practitioners really desire. This also confirms to regulatory requirements entering into Phase III.”