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

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $94.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.75. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $96.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 102.7% during 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. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.