AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Gap Up to $71.20

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $71.20, but opened at $74.99. AstraZeneca shares last traded at $75.19, with a volume of 4,436,841 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $232.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.95.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 100.52%.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $715,198,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,064 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,591 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,295 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.