AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the recipient of a significant 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 volume of 4,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AZN 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 cap of $232.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.51. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.07 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.