AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.66% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.13. The stock had a trading volume of 5,878,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,316,286. The company has a market capitalization of $242.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $80.86.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.