Astrazeneca's (AZN) Buy Rating Reiterated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a Buy rating on AstraZeneca, joining other recent buy/upgrades from firms like Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Jefferies, DZ Bank and Barclays; MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy with a $205.33 target price.
• AstraZeneca beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.58 (vs. $2.52 est.) and revenue of $15.29 billion (vs. $14.93 billion), and analysts forecast roughly $10.26 in EPS for the year.
• Shares traded at $184.67 with a $286.4 billion market cap, a P/E of 27.74 and a 52‑week range of $132.32–$212.71; several institutional investors increased stakes and institutions own about 20.35% of the stock.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

AZN has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.0%

Astrazeneca stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $184.67. 109,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,744,518. The company has a market capitalization of $286.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $196.02 and its 200 day moving average is $180.36. Astrazeneca has a 52 week low of $132.32 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Analysts predict that Astrazeneca will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,517,000 after acquiring an additional 582,183 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Astrazeneca

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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