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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.60. 5,419,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,140,949. 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 company has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.