AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AZN. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. CICC Research began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $186.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $153.41 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $289.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.27.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%. The company had revenue of $16.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Amundi increased its position in AstraZeneca by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,635 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 889.9% in the first 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. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 106,772.0% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,690,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,252,044,000 after purchasing an additional 160,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.