AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Rating Increased to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $65.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.44 and a 200-day moving average of $77.80. The stock has a market cap of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 231.3% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,822,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $946,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 17,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during 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.