AstraZeneca "buy," estimates raised

02/03/06 - ING Financial Markets

LONDON, February 3 (newratings.com) - Analysts at ING Financial Markets maintain their "buy" rating on AstraZeneca (AZN-GBX), while raising their estimates for the company. The target price is set to 3150p.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company has reported its 4Q05 results at the top-end of the consensus and ahead of the estimates, driven by robust sales of its Nexium, Toprol XL, Seroquel, Symbicort and Arimidex drugs. ING Financial Markets believes that the company's earnings growth would be robust during 2006, driven by revenue growth and margin expansion. The EPS estimate for FY2006 has been raised from $3.14 to $3.32.