AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $79.08 on Monday. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $80.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.14 and a 200-day moving average of $70.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.7% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 27,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.4% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 81,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 14.8% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 41,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 5,375 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $309,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.