AstraZeneca (AZN) Highlighted As Storm The Castle Stock
Trade-Ideas LLC identified
(
) as a "storm the castle" (crossing above the 200-day simple moving average on higher than normal relative volume) candidate. In addition to specific proprietary factors, Trade-Ideas identified AstraZeneca as such a stock due to the following factors:
- AZN has an average dollar-volume (as measured by average daily share volume multiplied by share price) of $109.0 million.
- AZN has traded 2.4 million shares today.
- AZN is trading at 2.76 times the normal volume for the stock at this time of day.
- AZN crossed above its 200-day simple moving average.
'Storm the Castle' stocks are worth watching because trading stocks that begin to experience a breakout can lead to potentially massive profits. Once psychological and technical resistance barriers like the 200-day moving average are breached on higher than normal relative volume, the stock is then free to find new buyers and momentum traders who can ultimately push the stock significantly higher. Regardless of the impetus behind the price and volume action, when a stock moves with strength and volume it can indicate the start of a new trend on which early investors can capitalize on. In the event of a well-timed trading opportunity, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends and a disciplined trading methodology should help you take the first steps towards investment success.
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More details on AZN:
AstraZeneca PLC engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection, and neuroscience diseases worldwide. The stock currently has a dividend yield of 4.4%. AZN has a PE ratio of 31. Currently there are 3 analysts that rate AstraZeneca a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 2 rate it a hold.
The average volume for AstraZeneca has been 2.6 million shares per day over the past 30 days. AstraZeneca has a market cap of $79.1 billion and is part of the health care sector and drugs industry. Shares are down 6.8% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Monday.
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Analysis:
rates AstraZeneca as a
. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and weak operating cash flow.
Highlights from the ratings report include:
- The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Pharmaceuticals industry. The net income increased by 203.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $254.00 million to $770.00 million.
- The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.63, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels.
- ASTRAZENECA PLC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, ASTRAZENECA PLC reported lower earnings of $0.49 versus $1.02 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.10 versus $0.49).
- Net operating cash flow has decreased to $1,745.00 million or 10.51% when compared to the same quarter last year. In conjunction, when comparing current results to the industry average, ASTRAZENECA PLC has marginally lower results.
- AZN has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 16.92% from its price level of one year ago. Looking ahead, we do not see anything in this company's numbers that would change the one-year trend. It was down over the last twelve months; and it could be down again in the next twelve. Naturally, a bull or bear market could sway the movement of this stock.
- You can view the full AstraZeneca Ratings Report.
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