Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $211.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

Institutional Trading of Astrazeneca

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Amundi increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after buying an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after buying an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $169.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $263.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.83.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

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.