Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.9%

AZN stock opened at $169.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca has a one year low of $145.79 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Ballast Inc. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the second quarter valued at $270,000. Investors Research Corp acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the second quarter worth about $122,000. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the company's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,294 shares of the company's stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,296,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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