Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,533,640 shares, a growth of 65.6% from the June 30th total of 1,530,055 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,192,074 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE AZN traded down $1.57 on Friday, reaching $169.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,669,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,340. The firm has a market cap of $263.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $179.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astrazeneca

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

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.