AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as £151.98 and last traded at £150.74, with a volume of 2093291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at £151.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from £145 to £160 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a £170 target price on the stock. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a £150 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from £105 to £110 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of £145.83.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is £138.67 and its 200 day moving average price is £128.92. The stock has a market capitalization of £233.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AstraZeneca news, insider Nazneen Rahman sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of £134.96, for a total transaction of £40,083.12. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas – Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology.
Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.