AZNCF - AstraZeneca Stock: Upgrading From 'Hold' To 'Buy' Ahead Of Q2 2024 Earnings

2024-07-18 13:50:41 ET

Summary

• AstraZeneca PLC will announce its Q2 earnings next Thursday, 25th July.
• In Q1, the company showed 19% year-on-year revenue growth and 13% EPS growth.
• Guidance for 2024 is for double-digit growth at the top and bottom lines — it's possible management may choose to upgrade expectations next week.
• AstraZeneca has unveiled plans to become the dominant global presence in breast and lung cancer markets, and drive >$80bn revenues by 2030 across all business divisions.
• It is an ambitious target, as is a mid-30's operating margin when R&D costs are growing, but I expect to see positive progress in Q2, with plenty of clinical updates and strong financial performance.

Investment Overview

In the first of my two most recent pieces of coverage for Seeking Alpha on AstraZeneca PLC ( AZN ), the Anglo / Swedish Pharma giant, I gave the company and its stock a “buy” recommendation in February. This was after a sell-off in response to a Q4 2023 earnings miss created a buying opportunity. Then, in late May, I gave it a “hold” recommendation , shortly after the company had revealed ambitious plans to exceed $80bn in top-line revenues by 2030....

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