AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,060,000 shares, an increase of 35.9% from the November 30th total of 7,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,700,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,330,917. The stock has a market cap of $205.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.82. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after acquiring an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 488,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,458,000 after acquiring an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.