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.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

AstraZeneca stock research in summary

astrazeneca.comHome

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 4 (worse than 96% compared with investment alternatives), AstraZeneca (Pharmaceuticals, United Kingdom) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of AstraZeneca are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 42 (worse than 58% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 42), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 6), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 4, is a sell recommendation based on AstraZeneca's financial characteristics. As the company AstraZeneca's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 42), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 42), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 6), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. 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	42
Growth Rank	42
Safety Rank	6
Combined Rank	4

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.

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: AstraZeneca

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	16	60	43	42
GROWTH
GROWTH	44	81	73	42
SAFETY
SAFETY	11	47	10	6
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	90	88	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	90	53	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. 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	42
GROWTH
GROWTH	44	81	73	42
SAFETY
SAFETY	11	47	10	6
COMBINED
COMBINED	2	70	28	4

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. 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 42 (worse than 58% compared with alternatives), AstraZeneca shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. 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 50 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 50% 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 71% of alternatives (only 29% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 27% 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 42, is a hold 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	29
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	12	58	51	50
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	25	34	15	15
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	65	70	74	73
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	16	60	43	42

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. 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 42 (better than 42% compared with alternatives), AstraZeneca shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for AstraZeneca. Sales Growth has a rank of 56 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 56% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 31% of competitors with a rank of 54. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 31, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 69% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 42. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 42, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. 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, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	90	76	67	56
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	28	74	60	31
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	53	64	54
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	49	68	42	42
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	44	81	73	42

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. 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 6 (better than 6% 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 43, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 57% 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 19, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 81% 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 6 (worse than 94% 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	19
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	27	96	7	4
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	18	32	44	43
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	11	47	10	6

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. 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: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for AstraZeneca.
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