AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is £101.62 ($131.94).

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a £110 ($142.82) price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating and set a £150 ($194.75) target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AstraZeneca from GBX 71 ($0.92) to GBX 74 ($0.96) and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of LON:AZN traded down GBX 66 ($0.86) during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting £118.64 ($154.04). The company had a trading volume of 838,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,995,459. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of GBX 9,461 ($122.84) and a twelve month high of £133.88 ($173.82). The stock has a market cap of £183.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,766.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.97, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business's 50-day simple moving average is £123.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is £121.26.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of GBX 77.60 ($1.01) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.64%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is presently 7,428.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michel Demare purchased 2,000 shares of AstraZeneca stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 118 ($1.53) per share, with a total value of £2,360 ($3,064.14). 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.