AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,690,000 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the December 31st total of 10,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,661,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,868,603. The company has a market capitalization of $220.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.83 and a 200 day moving average of $73.99. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business 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%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.