Weekly Investment Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Astrazeneca PLC (AZN)

Astrazeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 7/17/2017 – Astrazeneca PLC was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “sell” rating. According to Zacks, “AstraZeneca has a strong product portfolio and is one of the key players in the global cardiovascular market. It has been very active on the acquisition and partnering front, and expects to continue pursuing accretive deals. However, generic competition faced by AstraZeneca has put significant pressure on the top line. Atacand, Toprol-XL, Seroquel and Merrem are already facing generic competition in the U.S. Lately, its core products Crestor and Nexium are facing declining sales due to generic competition. Sales of another important drug, Symbicort, are declining due to significant pricing pressure on the ICS/LABA class. The diabetes franchise also faces stiff competition. Estimates for 2018 have declined slightly ahead of the company’s Q2 earnings release. The company has a positive record of earnings surprises in the recent quarters.”
• 7/13/2017 – Astrazeneca PLC had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Barclays PLC.
• 7/13/2017 – Astrazeneca PLC had its “sell” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The).
• 7/11/2017 – Astrazeneca PLC was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 7/3/2017 – Astrazeneca PLC had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Barclays PLC.

Astrazeneca PLC (NYSE AZN) traded up 0.24% on Tuesday, hitting $33.46. 2,530,202 shares of the company traded hands. Astrazeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $25.55 and a 12 month high of $35.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.36 and its 200 day moving average is $30.51. The stock has a market cap of $84.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Astrazeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. Astrazeneca PLC had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca PLC will post $1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca) is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company focuses on discovery and development of products, which are then manufactured, marketed and sold. The Company focuses on three main therapy areas: Oncology, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disease (CVMD) and Respiratory, while selectively pursuing therapies in Autoimmunity, Infection and Neuroscience.