Astrazeneca P L CAZNTOP PICKMay 10, 2017Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 26, 2026. Market Open.
Likes the name. Stock's come down right to the 200-day MA, which has provided support historically. Rotation from defensive to growth has been pretty intense recently. Trades ~18x forward PE, with ~14-15% growth. Attractive valuation. Healthcare names give you defense, plus some healthy growth. You don't want to be just in tech.
In oncology, but he isn't deeply familiar with its product pipeline. He can say, with quite a bit of confidence, that they've been improving on fundamentals since around 2017-18. ROC marched up from 6% to 13%, very consistent. Pretty good valuation at 13x EV/EBITDA. Well run.
He doesn't get too hung up on a weak couple of years. If the fundamentals are there, you just have to wait it out.
Likes the pipeline. A number of candidates to seek approval in the next couple of years, which will be a catalyst for earnings going forward. Fairly productive R&D engine. Also growth through tuck-in acquisitions. Relatively attractively priced given current growth outlook. Going to be second-fastest growing drug stock in Europe behind NVO. Yield is 3.06%.
(Analysts’ price target is $85.38)They rallied last summer, then faced headwinds last fall when a cancer drug failed to perform in trials and there was an investigation in their large Chinese business. Both problems are clearing now. They have a drug pipeline that should become a great growth story. Trades at 15x PE.
A diversified pharmaceutical, sort of shifting their business away from traditional fields. They are in decline right now on revenues. You want to be holding this along with Merck and Bristol-Myers. They have a very key study coming out, taking an immuno oncology drug and combining it with another immuno oncology drug. That is going to be a very key catalyst. Dividend yield of 4.5%. (Analysts’ price target is $34.)