AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $79.75 on Monday. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $80.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.93 and its 200-day moving average is $70.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 237.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 123,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,331,000 after purchasing an additional 86,610 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 328,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,582 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $474,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 87,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,919,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 9,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. 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.