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

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.75.

Several analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Martin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,615 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $69.06 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.