Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Receives $211.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $211.00.

Several research firms recently commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:AZN opened at $169.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.77. Astrazeneca has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $263.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.