Why This Trader Is Watching Amgen

Christian Tharp was recently a guest on #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show hosted by Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick.

Among several other biotech stocks he looked into, CMT Christian Tharp mentioned Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) as a stock he would watch. The company’s stock has gained about 40 percent over the past 52 weeks and 1.7 percent year-to-date.

The trader explained this is a stock he likes to watch because “it has taken part in the biotech rally in the last couple of weeks,” and he loves seeing something on a chart (“a problem or a good thing”) that tells him what to do, instead of having to guess.

He continued, “Amgen seems to be stalling around this $172 area… it’s done it two or three times… So this is one that, if someone is looking to get in biotech, is looking to get in Amgen, this stock pushing through that area, I think would make great sense.”

Shares of Amgen were down about 2.5 percent on Friday.

The company will announce its first quarter financial results next Tuesday. The Estimize consensus for EPS stands at $2.10, versus the Street’s $2.09.