AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Down 25.2% in October

by · The Markets Daily

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,030,000 shares, a drop of 25.2% from the September 30th total of 5,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.05. The stock had a trading volume of 3,208,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,008,803. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.51. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st 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. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,525,000 after buying an additional 29,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,565,000 after buying an additional 488,644 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,458,000 after buying an additional 186,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,990,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,588,000 after acquiring an additional 134,784 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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About AstraZeneca

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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.

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