AstraZeneca (AZN) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) will post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect AstraZeneca to post earnings of $0.97 per share for the quarter.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect AstraZeneca to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,005,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,177,931. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $211.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.965 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 100.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.00.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,222,597 shares of the company's stock worth $693,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,194 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,939 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 10.2% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,147,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,313,000 after acquiring an additional 476,480 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 407.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,093,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,290,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

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.