AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,060,000 shares, an increase of 35.9% from the November 30th total of 7,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.26. 4,700,368 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,330,917. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $72,437,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

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.