AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Short Interest Up 74.3% in November

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,070,000 shares, a growth of 74.3% from the October 31st total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,586,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,232,759. The firm has a market cap of $209.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.