Brokers Offer Predictions for AstraZeneca PLC’s Q4 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:AZN)

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of AstraZeneca in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.99 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.08. The consensus estimate for AstraZeneca’s current full-year earnings is $4.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AstraZeneca’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.10 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AZN. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $81.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,078,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,345,006. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $82.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.00 and a 200-day moving average of $72.76. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at about $188,476,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $143,999,000. 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.