AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Down 8.3% in November

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in 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 short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Martin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 13,860 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,510,000 after purchasing an additional 16,692 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 2,652,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,677,000 after buying an additional 201,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.18 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.57. The stock has a market cap of $208.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.