AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Upgraded at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) was upgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, FinViz reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AZN. HSBC started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,048,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,194,680. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.83. The stock has a market cap of $211.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after buying an additional 164,183 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after buying an additional 889,178 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AstraZeneca

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.