AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Erste Group Bank

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Argus boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $244.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.01. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 147,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,917,000 after purchasing an additional 24,233 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 261,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,629,000 after acquiring an additional 49,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.