AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports.

AZN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.8 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $79.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $245.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $80.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.20.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

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.