Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Earns Buy Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

AZN has been the topic of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $181.62 on Thursday. Astrazeneca has a one year low of $136.16 and a one year high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $281.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $192.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astrazeneca

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.