Astrazeneca’s (AZN) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Barclays

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Barclays in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE AZN traded down $5.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $180.01. 430,181 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,571,971. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $191.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.13. The firm has a market cap of $279.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Analysts predict that Astrazeneca will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,271,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $98,000. Summitry LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth $297,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth $170,325,000. Finally, Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at about $190,802,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

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.