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How to buy AstraZeneca shares | 7715p

Own AstraZeneca shares in just a few minutes. Share price changes are updated daily.

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On December 30 2020 the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in the UK. There will be more than 500,000 doses available and the vaccine is easier to store and distribute than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This will, no doubt, have an impact on the share price of the company. Investors are likely to buy shares with the hope that the share price of AstraZeneca will rise following this news and the hope that the vaccine will be approved for use in other countries worldwide.

How to buy shares in AstraZeneca

  1. Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
  2. Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
  3. Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
  4. Search the platform for stock code: AZN in this case.
  5. Research AstraZeneca shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
  6. Buy your AstraZeneca shares. It's that simple.
The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes.

What's in this guide?

  1. Can I buy shares in AstraZeneca?
  2. AstraZeneca shares summary
  3. Compare share dealing platforms
  4. Is AstraZeneca stock a buy or sell?
  5. Performance over time
  6. Is AstraZeneca suitable for ethical investing?
  7. Are AstraZeneca shares over-valued?
  8. Financials
  9. How volatile are AstraZeneca shares?
  10. Does AstraZeneca pay a dividend?
  11. Other common questions

AstraZeneca share price

Use our graph to track the performance of AZN stocks over time.

AstraZeneca shares at a glance

Information last updated 2021-04-30.
Open7519p
High7867p
Low7502p
Close7715p
Previous close7398p
Change 317p
Change % 4.2849%
Volume 3,368,733
Information last updated 2021-04-27.
52-week range6736p - 10116.2528p
50-day moving average 7251.278p
200-day moving average 7594.2607p
Wall St. target price78.83p
PE ratio 43.3865
Dividend yield 2.8p (3.72%)
Earnings per share (TTM) 175.7p
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Fees for buying 5x AstraZeneca shares with popular platforms

Share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform Platform fee Min. initial deposit Trading fee estimate
eToro Free Stocks logo £0 $200 £0.00
£385.75 total
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Degiro Share Dealing logo £0 £0.01 £1.80
£387.55 total
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Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account logo £0 £1 £11.95
£397.70 total
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interactive investor Trading Account logo £9.99 per month No minimum £7.99
£393.74 total
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Fineco logo £0 No minimum £0.00
£385.75 total
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Halifax Share Dealing Account logo £36 per year £20 £9.50
£395.25 total
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Full comparison of share dealing platforms

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Is it a good time to buy AstraZeneca stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

AstraZeneca price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of 7715p

3 months (2021-02-12) 3.27%
6 months (2020-11-13) -10.63%
1 year (2020-05-14) -11.98%
2 years (2019-05-14) 32.95%
3 years (2018-05-14) 45.70%
5 years (2016-05-13) 95.81%

Is AstraZeneca under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.

P/E ratio

AstraZeneca's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 43x. In other words, AstraZeneca shares trade at around 43x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the FTSE 250 at the end of September 2019 (19.71). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

However, AstraZeneca's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the drug manufacturers-general industry or those of similar companies.

PEG ratio

AstraZeneca's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.3398. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into AstraZeneca's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider AstraZeneca's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

EBITDA

AstraZeneca's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping £6.8 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a AstraZeneca's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

Financials

Revenue TTM £26.6 billion
Operating margin TTM 15.58%
Gross profit TTM £21.4 billion
Return on assets TTM 4.05%
Return on equity TTM 20.8%
Profit margin 12.01%
Book value 11.901p
Market capitalisation £100.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like AstraZeneca.

Total ESG risk score

AstraZeneca's total ESG risk: 28.52

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and AstraZeneca's overall score of 28.52 (as at 12/31/2018) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 45th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like AstraZeneca is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

To gain some more context, you can compare AstraZeneca's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

Environmental score

AstraZeneca's environmental score: 0.19/100

AstraZeneca's environmental score of 0.19 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that AstraZeneca is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Social score

AstraZeneca's social score: 15.45/100

AstraZeneca's social score of 15.45 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that AstraZeneca is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Governance score

AstraZeneca's governance score: 8.88/100

AstraZeneca's governance score puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that AstraZeneca is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Controversy score

AstraZeneca's controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, AstraZeneca scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that AstraZeneca hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

AstraZeneca PLC was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score 28.52
Total ESG percentile 44.72
Environmental score 0.19
Environmental score percentile 3
Social score 15.45
Social score percentile 3
Governance score 8.88
Governance score percentile 3
Level of controversy 3

AstraZeneca share dividends

66%

Dividend payout ratio: 66.35% of net profits

Recently AstraZeneca has paid out, on average, around 66.35% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.75% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 2.75% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In AstraZeneca's case, that would currently equate to about 2.8p per share.

AstraZeneca's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 24 February 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

Share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, AstraZeneca's shares have ranged in value from as little as 6736p up to 10116.2528p. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (LSE average) beta is 1, while AstraZeneca's is 0.1932. This would suggest that AstraZeneca's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

To put AstraZeneca's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

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