AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $65.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the third 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during 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 during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,437,000. 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.