AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

Several equities analysts have commented on AZN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $68.20 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.27 and its 200-day moving average is $77.09. The firm has a market cap of $211.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,476,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.