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Investing.com - Jefferies has upgraded AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) (AZN:LN) from Hold to Buy and significantly raised its price target to GBP150.00 from GBP109.00. The pharmaceutical giant, currently valued at $258.7 billion, has demonstrated strong momentum with a 22.6% return over the past six months and trades near its 52-week high. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a "GREAT" financial health score.
The upgrade reflects Jefferies’ view that AstraZeneca’s key oncology franchises currently in the market and its biopharmaceutical pipeline are undervalued by investors.
Jefferies believes AstraZeneca’s management target of $80 billion in sales by 2030 is "well within reach" based on its assessment of the company’s product portfolio and development pipeline.
The research firm notes that AstraZeneca would likely be the first pharmaceutical company to benefit from any increased interest from non-specialist investors in the sector.
Jefferies also highlighted a "rich" catalyst path over the next 12-18 months for AstraZeneca, noting that the diversity of the company’s pipeline reduces the importance of the phase III AVANZAR clinical trial results.
In other recent news, AstraZeneca announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of Saphnelo for subcutaneous self-administration in the EU. This recommendation is based on Phase III trial results demonstrating a significant reduction in disease activity for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to lower drug prices, offering discounts up to 80% for certain prescriptions and participating in the TrumpRx.gov platform. In another development, AstraZeneca plans to invest $4.5 billion in a new manufacturing facility in Virginia, enhancing its production capabilities for cancer and metabolic treatments. Deutsche Bank has downgraded AstraZeneca’s stock from Hold to Sell, citing concerns about the company’s pipeline, especially in the breast cancer treatment area. Additionally, AstraZeneca has partnered with Turbine to enhance cancer drug discovery using artificial intelligence, aiming to streamline the development of antibody-drug conjugates.
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