Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Astellas Pharma (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) to Strong-Buy

Astellas Pharma (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Smbc Nikko Sec. raised Astellas Pharma to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Citigroup lowered Astellas Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astellas Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Astellas Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of ALPMY stock opened at $15.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $28.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.15. Astellas Pharma has a 52 week low of $8.37 and a 52 week high of $16.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.15.

Astellas Pharma (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. Astellas Pharma had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 23.62%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astellas Pharma will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Astellas Pharma

Astellas Pharma Inc is a Tokyo-based, global pharmaceutical company traded in the United States as an American Depositary Receipt on the OTC Markets under the symbol ALPMY. The company focuses on discovering, developing and marketing prescription medicines in key therapeutic areas, including oncology, urology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases. Astellas seeks to bring innovative treatments to market by combining internal research capabilities with external partnerships and collaborative agreements around the world.

Core products in Astellas’ portfolio include the immunosuppressant Prograf (tacrolimus), the overactive bladder treatments Vesicare (solifenacin) and Myrbetriq (mirabegron), and the prostate cancer therapy Xtandi (enzalutamide).