Latest news with #Astrazeneca
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Astrazeneca (AZN) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed the most recent trading day at $73.55, moving -1.17% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.94%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.75%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.52%. Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 8.15% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 4.95%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.67%. Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.11, marking a 12.12% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $14.03 billion, reflecting a 8.42% rise from the equivalent quarter last year. Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $4.49 per share and revenue of $57.68 billion, indicating changes of +9.25% and +6.67%, respectively, compared to the previous year. It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% lower. Astrazeneca currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Looking at its valuation, Astrazeneca is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.56. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 19.72 for its industry. Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.36. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.45 as of yesterday's close. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 78, this industry ranks in the top 32% of all industries, numbering over 250. The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to use to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Astrazeneca (AZN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
The most recent trading session ended with Astrazeneca (AZN) standing at $73.83, reflecting a +1.12% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.55%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.63%. Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 5.89% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's gain of 3.49% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 6.29% in that time. Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.11, indicating a 12.12% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $14.03 billion, indicating an 8.42% upward movement from the same quarter last year. For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.49 per share and a revenue of $57.68 billion, representing changes of +9.25% and +6.67%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower within the past month. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should also note Astrazeneca's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 16.25. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.92. We can additionally observe that AZN currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.34. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.43. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 76, finds itself in the top 31% echelons of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
10-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Biocurious: Clever Culture Systems has a lot on its ‘plate' as it revolutionises quality control in drug making
Clever Culture's AI-enabled APAS Independence device automates the arduous process of agar plate reading at large drug facilities Having attracted Astrazeneca as a foundation client, the company is talking to at least 14 more Big Pharma players The company will expand APAS usage from so-called 'settled' agar plates to 'contact' plates Reports of big pharmaceutical companies expanding their manufacturing footprint are music to the ears of Clever Culture Systems' (ASX:CC5) CEO Brent Barnes. That's because the agar plate reading device maker's business is leveraged to Big Pharma's drug making volumes, at ultra-clean 'aseptic' facilities. 'There are many examples of pharmaceutical companies investing hundreds and millions of dollars in greenfield facilities or expanding and modernising existing ones,' he says. Not surprisingly the activity centres in the US, given Donald Trump's decree of a yet-to-be quantified tariff on offshore drugs. But much of the activity precedes the Trumpian Era Mark Two. For instance, Novo Nordisk is investing more than US$4 billion on a new facility in Clayton, North Carolina. The site will produce Novo's obesity and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. 'It's a great industry to be in, because potentially there will be a huge shortage of capacity,' Barnes says. A clean room is a joyful room Barnes' joy has been sparked by the Adelaide-based Clever Culture's role in ensuring the aseptic facilities are kept cleaner than a rumpus room after a Marie Kondo blitz. In this case, 'clean' means free of pathogens rather than clutter. The company's AI-enabled device APAS Independence automatically reads the hundreds of agar plates required to ensure such quality control. Short for 'Automated Plate Assessment System', APAS can manage 200 plates per hour without a tea break or whingeing. The facilities need to install and read culture plates as part of mandated environmental monitoring processes. Now, the microbiologists can focus only on the plates that read positive. 'The plate is clean 99% of the time but if there are bacteria the process can flag a quality event that could halt production,' Barnes say. 'The results are critical in terms of releasing drugs that are safe and effective.' The US Food and Drug Administration approved APAS Independence in May 2019 and European regulators followed suit in September 2021. Strategy U-turn gains traction Formerly known as LBT and then LBT Innovations, Clever Culture focused initially on the clinical microbiology market: hospitals and pathology labs. But the company discovered that while the tech was proven, these potential clients viewed the device as a 'nice to have' rather than a 'must have'. Clever Culture turned to the Big Pharma market, attracting Astrazeneca as a cornerstone customer. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) followed suit. Customers use the units - made in Melbourne by the renowned contract manufacturer by Planet Innovation - in the US, Singapore, China, the UK, Sweden and locally. 'We are focused on the largest pharmaceutical companies,' Barnes says. 'We do that by getting into their 'centre of excellence' facilities – every pharma has one – in the expectation the client will standardise APAS across all its facilities.' Tests by the plateload The quality control process involves 90 millimetre 'settled' plates being left open, to absorb any pathogens in the room. The plates are then sealed and removed every four hours, to be read after a five-day incubation period. A large facility will produce a steady stream of hundreds of plates. The rooms also use a second type of agar test – a 'contact' plate about 55-60mm in diameter. Assistants dab the plate's contents on to surfaces, such as a gown or gloved fingertips. The plates are cultured and read in a similar way to the settled plates. APAS simply doesn't do false negatives – if a bacterial colony is present, the algo will detect it 100% of the time. But there's more leeway with false positives. As a result, about 10% of plates are checked by two real-life microbiologists. Expanding the market To date, the APAS units have only been able to process the settled plates. But Clever Culture is tweaking the physical configuration of the units – as well as the algos – to process these smaller plates. The company aims for a mid-year launch. Given quality control is split roughly half between settled and contact plates, catering for the latter would seem to double the market for APAS. It doesn't quite work like that: the contact plate modality is more about enabling clients to automate 100% of their plate reading. Thus, Clever Culture hopes the device will appeal to smaller customers who otherwise could not justify the cost. 'It's great value add for the customer because they only invest once in the hardware, which can now operate both types of plates,' Barnes says. Clever Culture is also mulling a cheaper desktop version, APAS Compact, which similarly would expand the market to the smaller facilities. Revenue model Clever Culture currently has 13 APAS devices in the field, having launched the units last year. Astrazeneca accounts for nine of them, having started with one. BMS started with one site – its centre of excellence – and now has expanded usage to a second facility under a 'sequential rollout'. Barnes says the company is holding discussions with 14 of the 40 biggest pharma companies. One of them is completing an expanded 6000 plate evaluation, potentially enabling Clever Culture to hold procurement discussions directly with the manufacturing sites. More broadly the company cites a 'pipeline' of 40 customers, representing upfront revenue of about $75 million and $15 million of recurring revenue. The APAS units sells for US$350,000, but Clever Culture then derives ongoing income from an annual software licence of US$30,000 (rising to US$50,000 with the contact plate modality). There's also an annual hardware maintenance fee of $US15,000-25,000. In the black Clever Culture reported $500,000 of net cash inflows in the March (third) quarter, its second successive quarter in the black. The company recorded receipts of $2.3 million, $2 million attributable to sales to Astrazenca. The board expects the company to have 'breakeven or better' cashflow in the current half. Clever Culture ended the quarter with cash of $2.2 million. The company expects to bank $3.6 million of outstanding receivables in the current half. 'We don't need to raise capital to keep the lights on,' Barnes says. Furthermore, the company has issued in-the-money options, exercisable at 0.8 cents by November this year. This compares with yesterday's close of 1.8 cents. If investors exercise all of them - a reasonable assumption - they would generate other $3.2 million. Clever Culture has earmarked $1 million to pay off a $1 million, low-interest loan from the South Australian Government. But some of the funds could support developing APAS Compact. Leveraging a decade's work 'This company has completely turned around over the last 12 months because of its successful launch into pharma,' Barnes says. Since the then LBT listed in mid 2006, the company has spent at least $60 million developing APAS. The company's initial misstep into the laboratory sector shows that even if a device is clinically validated, the market needs compelling cost reasons to switch. 'Infectious diseases are not usually life threatening, so a delay in getting a result back or mistake is simply inconvenient,' Barnes says. 'They may pay microbiologists overtime to repeat the test, but there are no real consequences.' It's a different story for aseptic drug production at a massive scale. 'The consequence of getting it wrong literally is life-threatening,' Barnes says. 'The cost of a product recall and the reputation damage would be in the hundreds of millions. 'In the worst-case scenario, a patient could die.'
Medscape
09-06-2025
- Business
- Medscape
Merck's Potential Blockbuster Cholesterol Pill Succeeds in Late-stage Studies
(Reuters) -Merck's oral cholesterol pill succeeded in two late-stage studies, marking a win for the drugmaker as it focuses on the development of growth drivers beyond its cancer drugs and vaccines. The company is searching for its next blockbuster candidate as its major revenue driver, Keytruda, is expected to lose patent protection by the end of the decade. Merck's non-statin cholesterol drug, enlicitide decanoate, is being tested for the treatment of hyperlipidemia, a condition that causes elevated buildup of fat in the blood vessels and can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Enlicitide works by blocking PCSK9, a protein that plays a crucial role in regulating cholesterol levels, while statins block an enzyme the liver uses to make cholesterol. BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said Merck's drug could potentially provide a "multi-billion dollar opportunity" that expands the PCSK9 market beyond current injectable therapies. The drug showed meaningful reductions in LDL-C cholesterol, commonly referred to as "bad cholesterol", when compared to placebo and other oral non-statin therapies, Merck said. However, Leerink analysts have noted that Astrazeneca's AZD0780 is a "credible threat" as it has shown a 50.7% reduction in LDL-C levels during a trial. Merck has not given the details on LDL-C reduction for enlicitide. The drug was tested in patients who have a history of, or are at risk for a type of heart disease, and were treated with a statin. Shares of Merck were up 2% in premarket trading. Verve Therapeutics is also developing a gene therapy to reduce high cholesterol levels, which is expected to be used in combination with other drugs. (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Astrazeneca (AZN) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors
The latest trading session saw Astrazeneca (AZN) ending at $71.93, denoting a -1.24% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.41% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.08%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.67%. Shares of the pharmaceutical witnessed a gain of 0.54% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its loss of 3.74% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 6.13%. Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Astrazeneca is projected to report earnings of $1.11 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 12.12%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $14.03 billion, up 8.42% from the year-ago period. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $4.49 per share and a revenue of $57.68 billion, demonstrating changes of +9.25% and +6.67%, respectively, from the preceding year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.35% lower. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In terms of valuation, Astrazeneca is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.2. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.51. It is also worth noting that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.34. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. AZN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.47 as of yesterday's close. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 74, which puts it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Don't forget to use to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
