AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Up 12.0% in April

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.11. 928,581 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,242,332. The company has a market cap of $235.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $76.58.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $715,198,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,064 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,295 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.