AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,930,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the May 31st total of 6,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after purchasing an additional 889,178 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,664,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,364,924. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.40.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

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.