Astrazeneca’s (AZN) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AZN. Barclays raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE AZN opened at $181.62 on Wednesday. Astrazeneca has a 52 week low of $136.16 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $281.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.92.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Analysts forecast that Astrazeneca will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

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.