Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

AZN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

AZN stock opened at $159.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $247.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.95. Astrazeneca has a fifty-two week low of $153.41 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,635 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Its research, development and commercial operations focus on prescription medicines for serious and chronic diseases, with an emphasis on discovering and delivering innovative therapies rather than operating as a diversified healthcare conglomerate.

The company’s principal therapeutic areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunological conditions; and rare diseases.