AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,940,000 shares, an increase of 12.2% from the January 15th total of 15,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.58. 5,783,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,156,712. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.07 and its 200 day moving average is $73.43. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $61.77 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,510,000 after purchasing an additional 16,692 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,806,000 after buying an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 15,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.