AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

AZN has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $91.22 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.37. The stock has a market cap of $282.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.