AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Lifted to “Buy” at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AZN. TD Cowen upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Argus upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $78.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $242.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.10. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,367,000 after acquiring an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122,965 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after acquiring an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,487,000 after acquiring an additional 205,185 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.