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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L)

Healthcare Out of favour

AstraZeneca is a global pharmaceutical giant that discovers, develops, and sells life-saving medicines for cancer, heart disease, and respiratory conditions.

£126.32
≈ 12,632p · London-listed shares are usually quoted in pence (GBX) elsewhere; the Almanac shows pounds (£1 = 100p).

Is AstraZeneca PLC a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: AstraZeneca is a global pharmaceutical giant that discovers, develops, and sells life-saving medicines for cancer, heart disease, and respiratory conditions.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+2.1%
52-week range+21% past year
£126.32
Low £98.92High £157.32
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into AstraZeneca PLC
£1,021+2%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£195.91B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
2.40M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£125.58 – £128.94
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£98.92 – £157.32
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
25.3
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
1.9%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.23
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.23
Calm
Wild
Steadier than most

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +4% past week · ▲ +21% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Breakthroughs in high-growth areas like oncology

The bear case

Major patent cliffs leading to significant revenue loss

What does AstraZeneca PLC do?

AstraZeneca makes its money by researching complex new drugs and selling them to healthcare systems and hospitals around the world. Because developing medicine is a long and expensive process, they rely heavily on their ability to successfully bring new treatments to market. The drugs in their pipeline are what to follow, since the company's future rests on these treatments winning regulatory approval and catching on with doctors.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and income, and weakest on momentum.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 30Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 71Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 47Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 25Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 50
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Quality screens high (71/100)
  • Strong profit margins on high-value medicines
  • Diverse portfolio of treatments across multiple medical fields
  • Low volatility compared to the broader market
What to watch
  • Value screens low (30/100)
  • Momentum screens low (25/100)
  • Patents expiring, allowing cheaper generic versions to enter the market
  • Changes in government healthcare policies affecting drug pricing
  • Failure of late-stage clinical trials to meet safety or efficacy standards

What do AstraZeneca PLC's numbers mean?

P/E
24.8
This shows how much investors are currently paying for every pound of the company's profit, helping to gauge if the share price is high relative to recent earnings.
Gross margin
81.5%
This indicates that for every pound of medicine sold, over 80 pence remains after accounting for the direct costs of manufacturing, showing the company has strong pricing power.
Beta
0.2
A low number like this suggests the share price tends to be much less jumpy than the wider stock market, often acting as a steadier presence in a portfolio.
Dividend yield
1.8%
This is the annual cash payment to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, providing a small but steady income stream.

How much money does AstraZeneca PLC make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$3.88B$7.75B$11.63B$15.50BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
81.7%
Net margin
17.0%
Return on equity
22.0%

Does AstraZeneca PLC pay a dividend?

Yes - AstraZeneca PLC currently pays a dividend of about 1.9% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

More in Healthcare

Eli LillyWest Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.Incyte CorporationThe Cigna GroupZimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.Moderna, Inc.Gilead Sciences, Inc.Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Appears in
Big UK shares, explainedShares beginners actually recogniseHealthcare & pharma shares, explainedAstraZeneca vs GSK

What are the scenarios for AstraZeneca PLC?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

£159£126£110today · £126▲ Bull · £136• Base · £126▼ Bear · £117in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Positive clinical trial results for a key drug
Base
-2% to +2%Steady sales performance in line with expectations
Bear
-5% to -10%Unexpected regulatory delays for a new product

What are the pros and cons of AstraZeneca PLC?

4bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case4
  • Strong profit margins on high-value medicines
  • Diverse portfolio of treatments across multiple medical fields
  • Low volatility compared to the broader market
  • Consistent track record of global research and development
The catch3
  • High reliance on the success of a few key drugs
  • Significant costs associated with long-term research
  • Complex regulatory environment that can delay product launches
Key risks3
  • Patents expiring, allowing cheaper generic versions to enter the market
  • Changes in government healthcare policies affecting drug pricing
  • Failure of late-stage clinical trials to meet safety or efficacy standards
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: GBP · flags: none · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.