AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,070,000 shares, an increase of 74.3% from the October 31st total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6 %

AZN stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.62. 2,586,327 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,314,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.43. AstraZeneca has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.1 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.