AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Update

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,390,000 shares, a decline of 16.4% from the September 15th total of 6,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.31 and a 200-day moving average of $78.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 47.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.