MARKET REPORT: AstraZeneca likely to become first UK company to reach £200bn in sales
AstraZeneca is thought to become the first British company to reach £200 billion in sales.
According to broker TD Cowen, the pharmaceutical giant has “lots of business momentum and news ahead” and a “broad and deep” pipeline of drugs.
Analysts at the company stressed that three major developments could happen for AstraZeneca this year.
This includes approval in the US and EU for the antibody drug Datopotamab deruxtecan, which the company is developing with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo to treat patients with lung and breast cancer.
New drugs: AstraZeneca analysts highlighted what they think could be three big developments for AstraZeneca this year
AstraZeneca is also awaiting new research data on key drugs such as Imfinzi, Lynparza and Tagrisso.
And the company could unveil early progress on its treatments for diabetes and obesity at the Obesity Week conference in San Antonio, Texas, in November.
As a result, TD Cowen raised its sales forecast for every year through the end of the decade and now expects AstraZeneca to generate revenues of £61bn in 2030.
That’s slightly lower than the company’s own target of £63bn, although the broker said this suggests “room for improvement”.
It also raised its price target on the pharmaceutical company to 14,860p, valuing the company at £230bn.
Shares rose 0.6 percent, or 80p, to 12,780p, giving it a value of almost £198 billion. That means AstraZeneca is close to becoming the first UK company to be valued at £200 billion.
Shell (up 0.8 percent or 23p to 2,799p), HSBC (up 0.2 percent or 1.4p to 643.9p) and Unilever (down 0.3 percent or 16p to 4,714p) are the only other blue chip companies worth more than £100 billion.
Stock Quote – Celadon Pharmaceuticals
A company that produces cannabis-based medicines is facing financing delays.
Celadon Pharmaceuticals said it is “tightly” managing its cash position of £48,000.
The AIM-listed company faced delays in receiving funds from an investor who recently bought £1m of new shares, while at the same time it was applying to be paid out £1m of its £7m loan agreement with a lender.
The shares, which were at 165p in March 2022, fell 45.8 percent, or 24.1p, to 28.5p.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent or 42.15 points to 8,210.25 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.3 percent or 52.01 points to 20,677.19.
Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel as tensions in the Middle East continued to rise.
A broker downgrade dealt a blow to JD Sports. Analysts at Deutsche Bank Research advised clients to sell shares in the self-styled ‘King of Trainers’, citing cash flow problems and weak customer spending that fuelled persistent promotional discounts.
Shares fell 4.1 percent, or 5.1p, to 120.35p. Auction Technology was another faller after analysts at Peel Hunt cut their annual revenue forecast.
The broker cut its revenue forecast by 2 percent to £136 million for the year to the end of September amid concerns that prices will remain volatile in the second half of the year.
Shares in Auction Technology, whose eight digital marketplaces allow traders to buy and sell items including furniture, stamps and coins, fell 7 percent, or 31.5p, to 422p.
There was better news for drinks giant Diageo, with analysts at RBC raising their rating on the owner of Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’.
The upgrade came despite the company battling a slowdown in Latin American business and customers shunning expensive drinks. Shares rose slightly by 1 percent, or 25p, to 2,451.5p.
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