Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AZN stock traded up $3.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.07. 333,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,484,672. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.80. The company has a market capitalization of $293.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. 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 has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced 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. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after buying an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by 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.