AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AZN. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.4%

AZN stock opened at $94.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $292.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. AstraZeneca has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $96.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.83.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.