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

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,400,000 shares, a decline of 8.3% from the November 15th total of 8,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZN. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,458,000 after buying an additional 186,010 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $67.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.77 and a 200 day moving average of $76.57. AstraZeneca has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $208.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

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.