Analysts Set Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) PT at $211.00

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $206.6667.

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of AZN opened at $169.50 on Friday. Astrazeneca has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $262.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Astrazeneca will post 10.21 EPS for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

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.