JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN traded down $5.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $180.01. The stock had a trading volume of 430,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,971. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.13. Astrazeneca has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year 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 $279.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during 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, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

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.