AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,580,000 shares, a growth of 12.0% from the March 31st total of 7,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

AZN traded up $0.72 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,495,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,217,065. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $235.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 4,919 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after acquiring an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after buying an additional 49,541 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.