Brokerages Set AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) PT at $95.75

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.75.

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the second quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $91.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $283.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.02. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $94.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.