AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

AZN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 2.1 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $65.63 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at $1,524,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 238,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,127,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 43,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

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.