Leerink Partnrs Boosts Earnings Estimates for AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) – Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AstraZeneca in a note issued to investors on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs analyst A. Berens now expects that the company will post earnings of $5.10 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $5.07. The consensus estimate for AstraZeneca’s current full-year earnings is $4.66 per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.2 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $73.58 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.49. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $61.77 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $228.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the third quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Veery Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.36%.

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.