Analysts Set AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Target Price at $89.75

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after buying an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,487,000 after acquiring an additional 205,185 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,525,000 after purchasing an additional 29,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.85 on Friday. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $241.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

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.