AstraZeneca PLC · the panel splits either side of the report
Only four houses have set a target in the past 90 days. The two that revised after the Q2 report sit 21 per cent above the two that revised before it, and all four stand above a share price that has absorbed a failed phase III readout and a merger report that has since been denied.
Snapshot as of 5 August 2026
Where the panel sits
The share closed at 1,545.50 SEK on 5 August, below the floor of the in-window panel. The four targets divide cleanly on either side of the Q2 report of 27 July: Bernstein and SB1 Markets revised after it and average 2,309 SEK, while Berenberg and HSBC revised on 13 July, after the Wainua readout but before the report, and average 1,909 SEK. The 21 per cent gap between those two pairs is the clearest evidence in this panel that the earlier targets rest on financial data the company has since superseded.
All public targets
Twelve houses cover the share. Four carry a target set within the 90 days to the snapshot date and are the sole basis for the mean, median and range. The remaining eight are listed below them, ordered by target, and excluded from the aggregates; they are shown to give the reader the full picture of coverage, not because they feed the consensus figure. AstraZeneca is dual-listed, and the covering houses do not publish in a single currency. The Target column shows each house's figure as published. The SEK column converts the sterling targets at the Riksbank reference rate of 12.83586 SEK per pound and is BioStock's calculation, not the house's. Shore Capital carries a rating without a public target. Individual analyst names are not disclosed in the aggregated revision record used to assemble this panel.
| House | Analyst / note | Target | SEK | Rec. | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernstein | 202 GBP | 2,593 | Buy | 29 Jul | |
| Berenberg | 160 GBP | 2,054 | Buy | 13 Jul | |
| SB1 Markets | 2,025 SEK | 2,025 | Buy | 29 Jul | |
| HSBC | 137.50 GBP | 1,765 | Hold | 13 Jul | |
| UBS | outside window | 176 GBP | 2,259 | Buy | 26 Feb |
| Citigroup | outside window | 170 GBP | 2,182 | Buy | 27 Jan |
| DZ Bank | outside window | 164 GBP | 2,105 | Buy | 30 Apr |
| TD Cowen | outside window | 158.15 GBP | 2,030 | Buy | 9 Dec 2025 |
| Nordea | outside window | 1,650 SEK | 1,650 | Sell | 10 Apr |
| Svenska Handelsbanken | outside window | 1,625 SEK | 1,625 | Hold | 15 Sep 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | outside window | 110 GBP | 1,412 | Sell | 16 Jan |
| Shore Capital | outside window | no target | n/a | Hold | 13 Feb |
Buy · Hold · Sell
The recommendation breakdown covers all twelve houses at their latest rating, and therefore describes a wider group than the four-house target panel above. Seven carry Buy, three Hold and two Sell. Both Sell ratings, Nordea and Deutsche Bank, were set outside the 90-day window and neither contributes to the mean. Among the four houses with a current target, three carry Buy and one Hold. Deutsche Bank's 110 GBP, which converts to 1,412 SEK, is the only target in the whole panel below the current share price, and it dates from 16 January.
What drove panel revisions
- 10 Apr 2026Nordea raises its target while keeping SellThe house moved to 1,650 SEK from 1,531 SEK and left its Sell rating in place. The target predates the 90-day window and does not feed the aggregates, though the rating still counts in the breakdown above. At 1,650 SEK it stands above the current share price, which is unusual for a Sell; the panel's other Sell, Deutsche Bank at 1,412 SEK, sits below it. [1]
- 30 Apr 2026DZ Bank upgrades to BuyThe house moved from Hold to Buy with a target of 164 GBP, equivalent to 2,105 SEK at the snapshot rate. That target also predates the 90-day window and is excluded from the aggregates. [1]
- 9 Jul 2026Wainua misses its primary endpoint in phase IIIAstraZeneca and its partner Ionis reported that the CARDIO-TTRansform trial of Wainua in transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint. The share fell close to 8 per cent that morning and healthcare was the weakest sector on the Stockholm exchange, down 2.54 per cent. House assessments of the net present value impact ranged from about 2 per cent at Jefferies to about 3 per cent at Citi. Wainua retains approvals in more than 20 countries for polyneuropathy. [3]
- 13 Jul 2026Berenberg trims, HSBC downgradesBerenberg cut its target to 160 GBP from 170 GBP and reiterated Buy, pointing to 25 significant phase III readouts expected over the following 18 months. [5] HSBC moved from Buy to Hold at 137.50 GBP, having already trimmed to 165 GBP from 172 GBP earlier in the month on revenue forecast cuts of 2.1 per cent for 2026 and 2027. [4]
- 27 Jul 2026Q2 2026 report beats on earningsCore earnings per share came in at USD 2.63 against consensus of USD 2.48, a rise of 18 per cent at constant currency. Total revenue rose 5 per cent to USD 15.38 bn against consensus of USD 15.39 bn. Oncology revenue rose 15 per cent and rare disease 8 per cent, while China fell 13 per cent. The interim dividend was raised by 3 cents to USD 1.06. Full-year guidance and the USD 80 bn revenue ambition for 2030 were both maintained. [2]
- 29 Jul 2026Bernstein raises to the panel high, SB1 Markets trimsBernstein moved to 202 GBP from 185 GBP and reiterated Outperform, which normalises to Buy. SB1 Markets moved to 2,025 SEK from 2,050 SEK and kept Buy, having already cut from 2,100 SEK earlier in the month over the Wainua and Anselamib setbacks. The house left its 2026 sales forecast unchanged and reduced 2027 and 2028 by 0.5 per cent per year. [6] [1]
- 2 to 5 Aug 2026Merger report, share reaction, and denialThe Financial Times reported on Sunday 2 August that AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb had held preliminary talks over a combination valued near USD 400 bn, and Reuters followed the same day citing a person familiar with the situation. The London-listed shares fell around 9 per cent on the Monday, their largest one-day fall since 2020. On Wednesday 5 August Reuters reported that a senior source close to the matter said there are no discussions between the companies and that there never was a deal to be done. Both companies declined to comment, and a second person familiar with the matter noted that British market abuse rules would have required an announcement had negotiations been under way. Both the original report and the denial rest on unnamed sources. The share closed at 1,545.50 SEK in Stockholm on 5 August, up 2.32 per cent on the day. [8] [9]
Numbered sources
- Target prices for AstraZeneca: aggregated revision record
- AstraZeneca Q2 2026 results: core EPS and revenue against consensus
- Borsen idag: AstraZeneca and the CARDIO-TTRansform readout
- HSBC reshuffles its pharmaceutical coverage, cuts AstraZeneca target
- Berenberg reiterates Buy on AstraZeneca, points to the research portfolio
- SB1 Markets sees about 20 per cent upside in AstraZeneca despite the setbacks
- Exchange rates for 4 August 2026: GBP 12.83586, EUR 10.9925, USD 9.54624
- Exclusive: no discussions over AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers deal, senior source says
- AstraZeneca closing price, market capitalisation and trailing P/E on 5 August 2026
How the report was compiled
Consensus is compiled from publicly available target prices as of 5 August 2026 and is referenced against the closing price of 1,545.50 SEK on the Stockholm line on that date. [9] The panel is assembled from the aggregated record of published target-price revisions for AstraZeneca on Borskollen, cross-checked against the individual revision notices reported in the Nordic financial press. [1] Mean, median and range are computed across the four houses whose targets were set within the 90 days to the snapshot date; the eight older entries are listed in the panel and excluded from those aggregates. Where a target predates the issuer's most recent report it rests on financial data since superseded, which is why the window is applied to the aggregates rather than to the panel as a whole. AstraZeneca has a primary listing in London and a secondary listing in Stockholm, and the covering houses do not publish in a single currency. Each house's target is shown as it was published. The SEK column is BioStock's own conversion at the Riksbank reference rate of 12.83586 SEK per pound sterling, published for 4 August 2026, the preceding banking day; no house has published the converted figure. [7] All aggregates, the range and the upside percentage are stated in SEK. The recommendation breakdown counts each of the twelve covering houses once at its latest rating and is therefore drawn from a wider group than the target aggregates. Buy, Hold and Sell are normalised from each house's own scale according to: Buy, Overweight and Outperform to Buy; Hold, Neutral and Market Perform to Hold; Sell, Underweight and Underperform to Sell. Market capitalisation and the trailing P/E ratio of 25.0, stated on reported earnings per share of 61.90 SEK, are taken from the Stockholm listing on the snapshot date. [9]
