Fact based stock research
AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN)

GB0009895292

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

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AstraZeneca stock research in summary

astrazeneca.comHome

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 10 (worse than 90% compared with investment alternatives), AstraZeneca (Pharmaceuticals, United Kingdom) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of AstraZeneca are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 52 (better than 52% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 60) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 1), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 10, is a sell recommendation based on AstraZeneca's financial characteristics. As the company AstraZeneca's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 52) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 60), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 1) indicates that the company is optimistic about the future and sees debt as an opportunity to boost returns. More debt means more shareholder returns if everything goes well. However, higher debt burdens are risky when interest rates rise or the business deteriorates in a crisis. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	n/a
Growth Rank	n/a
Safety Rank	n/a
Combined Rank	n/a

Country	United Kingdom
Industry	Pharmaceuticals
Index	FTSE All Shares, FTSE 100, FTSE 350, Employee Focus EU, Diversity Europe, Human Rights, Renewables Users, NASDAQ, OMX 30
Size class	XX-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

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Research History: AstraZeneca

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	16	60	43	n/a
GROWTH
GROWTH	44	81	73	n/a
SAFETY
SAFETY	11	47	10	n/a
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	90	88	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	90	53	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: . Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: . Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better AstraZeneca is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	16	60	43	n/a
GROWTH
GROWTH	44	81	73	n/a
SAFETY
SAFETY	11	47	10	n/a
COMBINED
COMBINED	2	70	28	n/a

Last update of combined financial performance: . Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of AstraZeneca the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), AstraZeneca shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for AstraZeneca. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 51 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 51% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning AstraZeneca's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 15, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 15% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 74% of alternatives (only 26% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 24% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 52, is a buy recommendation based on AstraZeneca's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	12	44	28	n/a
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	12	58	51	n/a
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	25	34	15	n/a
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	65	70	74	n/a
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	16	60	43	n/a

Last update of Value Rank: . Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of AstraZeneca; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 60 (better than 60% compared with alternatives), AstraZeneca shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for AstraZeneca. Sales Growth has a value of 70 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 70% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a value of 65 and Capital Growth with a rank of 51 means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow both profits and invested capital more than of its competitors. But Stock Returns has only a rank of 49, which means that stock returns have recently been below 51% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 60, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. AstraZeneca has only one below-average growth indicator, the stock returns. This is probably the least reliable growth indicator, because it measures company and investor expectations at the same time. The three other growth indicators, which are all positive for AstraZeneca, are more reliable measures of growth momentum. For this reason, the company seems to be on a good trajectory, unless you think the current period is not representative, because of unique events that will not be repeated in the future. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	90	76	67	n/a
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	28	74	60	n/a
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	53	64	n/a
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	49	68	42	n/a
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	44	81	73	n/a

Last update of Growth Rank: . Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of AstraZeneca.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 1 (better than 1% compared with alternatives), the company AstraZeneca has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of AstraZeneca is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for AstraZeneca. Liquidity is at 37, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 63% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 15, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 85% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 4 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 96% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 1 (worse than 99% compared with alternatives), AstraZeneca has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of AstraZeneca because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	41	9	20	n/a
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	27	96	7	n/a
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	18	32	44	n/a
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	11	47	10	n/a

Last update of Safety Rank: . Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of AstraZeneca and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	67	78	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	52	52	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	80	92	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	59	35	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	90	88	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: . Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for AstraZeneca.
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