AstraZeneca (AZN) Stock Up, Argus Research Initiates Coverage
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) - Get Report are up 0.83% to $30.23 this afternoon as coverage of the stock was initiated by analysts at Argus Research with a "hold" rating.
The initiation follows recent reports that the London-based company would be putting in a bid to buy San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company Medivation (MDVN), according to London's Sunday Times.
AstraZeneca is reportedly considering a $10 billion bid.
Medivation is currently in talks with several other companies, such as Sanofi (SNY) and Pfizer (PFE).
Despite the potential deal with Medivation, Argus Research noted that while the company is well-managed, three of its top drugs have lost patent protection recently and the company has plenty of challenges to overcome.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C+.
The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and notable return on equity. However, TheStreet Ratings finds weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: AZN
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.