AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,630,000 shares, an increase of 14.9% from the October 15th total of 4,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $63.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $196.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.20.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,444,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in AstraZeneca by 91.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 38,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,014,000 after purchasing an additional 18,512 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 3.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 255,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in AstraZeneca by 136.1% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 18,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.