Zacks Research Has Negative View of AstraZeneca Q3 Earnings

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of AstraZeneca in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will earn $1.15 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.18. The consensus estimate for AstraZeneca’s current full-year earnings is $4.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AstraZeneca’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.37 EPS.

AZN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $76.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.86. The company has a market cap of $236.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,457,706,000 after acquiring an additional 686,008 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,367,000 after acquiring an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after acquiring an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

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.