Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Stock Price Up 3.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN)’s share price rose 3.5% during trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $161.72 and last traded at $161.2070. 602,235 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 2,788,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.82.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AZN. Nordea Equity Research raised Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.67.

Astrazeneca News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership expands pipeline potential: AstraZeneca entered an exclusive worldwide research collaboration with insitro to identify therapies for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and cardiomyopathies. The deal will combine insitro’s machine-learning and high-throughput biology platforms with AstraZeneca’s drug-development capabilities. AstraZeneca will pay approximately $40 million upfront, while insitro could receive up to $1.5 billion in milestone payments plus tiered royalties if products reach commercialization. The agreement offers AstraZeneca access to potential new targets while limiting near-term financial exposure. AstraZeneca enters new strategic collaboration with insitro
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish ahead of lung-cancer data: RBC Capital Markets maintained its “outperform” rating and 14,500 pence price target. RBC expects third-quarter revenue of $16.3 billion and core EPS of $2.61, modestly above consensus, while investors await the AVANZAR lung-cancer trial and AstraZeneca’s October 30 results. RBC keeps AstraZeneca at outperform ahead of AVANZAR lung cancer trial
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals increased speculative interest: Investors purchased 49,737 call options, approximately 1,415% above typical call volume. While options activity is not a fundamental indicator, the surge suggests heightened short-term bullish positioning or expectations of further catalysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rating change is modestly supportive: Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing a negative signal but stopping short of a bullish recommendation. Zacks upgrades AstraZeneca to hold

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $162.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.27.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Its research, development and commercial operations focus on prescription medicines for serious and chronic diseases, with an emphasis on discovering and delivering innovative therapies rather than operating as a diversified healthcare conglomerate.

The company’s principal therapeutic areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunological conditions; and rare diseases.