AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) Earns “Buy” Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Digital Look reports. They presently have a £175 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 47.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AZN. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a £145 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a £175 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a £117 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from £175 to £178 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of £153.57.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of LON:AZN opened at £118.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of £184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.10, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is £120.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is £132.06. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of £114.04 and a 52-week high of £157.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michel Demare purchased 2,500 shares of AstraZeneca stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of £121.21 per share, for a total transaction of £303,025. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AstraZeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Jefferies reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a £175 price target, while Berenberg also maintained a “buy” rating with a £175 target. Citi separately raised its target to 18,600 pence (£186), implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Jefferies maintains buy rating Citi raises AstraZeneca target
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology pipeline strengthened: AstraZeneca’s investment in Summit Therapeutics is deepening its cancer pipeline and expanding its exposure to potentially important oncology programs. AstraZeneca Summit Therapeutics investment
• Positive Sentiment: Prostate-cancer collaboration: AstraZeneca is partnering with Myriad Genetics and SOPHiA GENETICS on prostate-cancer polygenic risk scores, a move that could support more personalized patient identification and treatment decisions. Prostate cancer risk-score partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning: AstraZeneca was reported at about €142.63 with an approximately $248.3 billion market capitalization, underscoring its scale but offering limited new information for valuation. AstraZeneca market capitalization
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading weakness: AstraZeneca fell and underperformed the broader market, while a separate report noted that the shares reached a new 12-month low. The decline suggests near-term selling pressure is outweighing favorable broker commentary and pipeline news. AstraZeneca underperforms market AstraZeneca reaches 12-month low

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas – Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology.
Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.