DZ Bank Upgrades Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) to Buy

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) was upgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

AZN has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.67.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $3.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.24. The company had a trading volume of 984,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,857. The firm has a market cap of $291.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.94. Astrazeneca has a 12 month low of $132.32 and a 12 month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.74 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 31.57%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after buying an additional 4,697,895 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $675,263,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth $473,782,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 32,441.5% during the 1st quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 2,445,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,657 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca beat Q1 expectations — EPS $2.58 vs. $2.53 est and revenue $15.29B vs. $14.74B, while reconfirming full?year 2026 guidance; management cited strong oncology and rare?disease performance as drivers. AstraZeneca beats profit expectations, keeps annual outlook unchanged — Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its 2026 core EPS forecast for AZN to $10.30 (up ~2%) and reiterated a Buy rating, citing the Q1 beat and attractive risk/reward into second?half pipeline readouts that the market may not have fully priced. Citi raises AstraZeneca earnings forecast and maintains ‘buy’ rating — Proactive
• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca exercised its option to license Pinetree’s EGFR degrader program (PTX?299); the deal triggers a $25M option payment and gives AZN an exclusive global license to develop a first?in?class candidate — a near?term non?dilutive spend with potential pipeline upside. Pinetree announces exercise of option to license EGFR degrader — PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: UK investment: AstraZeneca will invest £300M (~$405M) in British sites, a move highlighted by UK leadership that supports long?term manufacturing capacity and political/regulatory goodwill in its home market. AstraZeneca to make $405 million investment in Britain — Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate for AZN to $10.30 from $10.44 — a modest cut that broadly tracks consensus near ~$10.27 and appears to reflect fine?tuning rather than a structural downgrade.
• Neutral Sentiment: Astra and Amgen are participating in FDA pilot work on “real?time” trials using AI to speed development — strategically positive long?term but unlikely to move near?term revenue/earnings materially. Amgen, Astra launch real-time trials as FDA pilot — Seeking Alpha

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.