AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,100,000 shares, a drop of 10.1% from the October 31st total of 9,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.
AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.3 %
NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.79. 3,616,434 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,494,129. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $61.73 and a 52-week high of $76.56. The firm has a market cap of $200.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.60.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.55 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 30.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 55.1% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 4,249 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 22.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,328,000 after buying an additional 1,343,939 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in AstraZeneca by 102.7% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. 15.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, September 8th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Company Profile (Get Free Report)
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, andcommercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.
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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest