AMGN options turn bullish as borrow costs triple

Options traders are rotating out of puts on AMGN at the sharpest pace in months. The put-call ratio fell to 0.96 on Monday, 2.45 standard deviations below its 20-day mean of 1.07, the most bullish reading in the recent window. Shares have gained 1.8% over the past week, modestly ahead of the peer median.

The options shift

A PCR of 0.96 means calls now outnumber puts. That is notable for Amgen, whose 52-week PCR range runs from 0.62 to 1.38, and whose ratio has sat consistently above 1.0 for the past month. The move to sub-1.0 represents a clear break from that pattern, not a marginal drift. The 20-day mean of 1.07 underlines how steady the prior put-heavy positioning had been.

Borrow costs climbing against a loose lending market

There is a tension worth noting in the lending data. The cost to borrow has risen to 0.59%, up 216% over the past week and 33% over the past month. That is a sharp move in percentage terms.

In context, though, the absolute rate remains low. Availability stands at 9,999%, meaning there are vastly more shares available to borrow than are currently out on loan. The lending market for Amgen is loose by any conventional measure. Short interest itself sits at 2.4% of the free float, with 13.1 million shares short as of 19 October, a level that has edged lower over the past month. The borrow-cost spike looks like a pricing adjustment rather than a genuine squeeze in supply.

Analysts split ahead of November earnings

Seven analyst actions landed in the past two weeks, and the split is instructive. UBS raised its target to $470 and RBC Capital lifted to $430, both maintaining positive ratings. Guggenheim, BMO Capital and Morgan Stanley moved the other way, each lowering targets while holding neutral or market-perform ratings. The consensus target of $394.98 sits roughly 7% below Monday's close of $424.94.

Amgen reports on 3 November, fourteen days away. The last print, in August, moved the stock 7.6% in a single day. The bull case centres on six key growth drivers that were up 26% year on year in the second quarter. The bear case flags biosimilar pressure on Prolia and Xgeva, plus uncertainty around the MariTide data and Lp(a) programme.

Medicaid units reimbursed fell 24% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data, and Medicaid prescriptions were down 23% over the same period. Neither dataset has been measured as a leading indicator for Amgen's reported financials, so the figures are context rather than a read on the upcoming print.

What to watch

The 3 November earnings date is the immediate reference point. A PCR holding below 1.0 into the print would confirm the options positioning shift is sustained. Any sustained rise in borrow costs from the current 0.59% would be worth tracking, though availability would need to fall sharply from its current level before the lending market tightens in any meaningful way.