AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) Given Buy Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

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

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

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.4%

LON AZN opened at £118.92 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of £120.57 and a 200 day moving average price of £132.06. 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 company has a market cap of £184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.20. AstraZeneca has a one year low of £114.04 and a one year high of £157.32.

Insider Activity at AstraZeneca

In other AstraZeneca news, insider Michel Demare purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of £121.21 per share, for a total transaction of £303,025. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.