AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $206.67 According to Brokerages

Shares of AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.67.

A number of research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $186.62 on Friday. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $153.41 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.48 and a 200-day moving average of $180.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.19. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The business had revenue of $16.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 146,574.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,375,659 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 889.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 208.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,417,000 after buying an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries.

AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.