Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Receives Buy Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports.

AZN has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE AZN traded up $0.93 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 607,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,403. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.53. Astrazeneca has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. 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 firm has a market cap of $283.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,157,593,000. 20.35% of the stock is 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.