The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Buy Rating for Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AZN. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE:AZN traded down $5.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.04. 683,925 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,486,896. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.15 and a 200 day moving average of $187.47. Astrazeneca has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Astrazeneca

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Astrazeneca

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.