AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a decrease of 40.3% from the March 31st total of 10,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $1.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.44. 5,374,416 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,155,151. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $224.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.15%.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,457,706,000 after buying an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,894 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock worth $995,032,000 after purchasing an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $88.00.

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.