AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,105,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,142,442. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $86.57. The company has a market cap of $262.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.41 and a 200 day moving average of $75.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 5,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.