AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Receives Buy (B) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AstraZeneca's stock has received a "buy (B)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating positive sentiment from analysts.
• Berenberg Bank has set a price target of $97.00 for AstraZeneca, while analysts generally have a consensus price target of $86.00.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in AstraZeneca, with notable increases from firms like Goldman Sachs and Fayez Sarofim & Co.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.38. The stock had a trading volume of 6,620,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,154,777. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.21. The firm has a market cap of $264.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 173.4% in the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307,047 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 406.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621,974 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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