AstraZeneca share price: Q2 earnings preview

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Astrazeneca Q2 revenue is expected to show strong growth, although an increased cost base will pressure underlying earnings.

Source: Bloomberg

 

Shares AstraZeneca Price Revenue Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Technical analysis

 Shaun Murison | Senior Market Analyst, Johannesburg | Publication date: Tuesday 27 July 2021 

When are the AstraZeneca results?

AstraZeneca, the biopharmaceutical company, earnings release date is scheduled for 27 July 2021. The scheduled results will cover the groups second quarter (Q2) and half-year earnings.

What to expect from AstraZeneca results?

While a large Covid-19 vaccine rollout will have boosted revenue for the group, it would have done little for underlying earnings due to the company selling the product as a non-profit item.

Consensus estimates derived from Refinitiv data arrives at the following expectations for Q2 of 2021:

• Revenue $7.530 billion (+20%) year on year (YoY)
• Earnings before interest tax depreciation amortisation (EBITDA) $2.233 billion (-10.75% YoY)
• Earnings per share (EPS) $0.93 (-3.01% YoY)

What is expected to be accretive to future earnings for the group (although may weigh in the short term) is the groups acquisition of biopharmaceutical business Alexion, which was concluded on 21 July 2021, shortly after the reporting quarter.

Find out more on how to buy, sell and short AstraZeneca shares

How to trade AstraZeneca results

A Refinitiv poll of 29 analysts maintain a long-term average rating of ‘buy’ for AstraZeneca (as of 26 July 2021), with 10 of these analysts recommending a strong buy, 16 recommending a buy, 1 hold, 1 sell and 1 strong sell recommendation on the stock.

Source: IG

AstraZeneca share price – technical analysis view

Source: IG charts

 

The share price of AstraZeneca continues to trade in an uptrend which has been in place since the beginning of 2021. The price has however started to correct from near-term highs.

Traders respecting the longer-term uptrend will prefer to keep a long bias to trades targeting a retest of the 8770 level, provided that the price does not move to break the confluence of both trend line and horizontal support at the 7800 level. A break of the 7800 level would instead suggest the uptrend to be broken.

In summary

• AstraZeneca results are scheduled for release on 27 July 2021
• Q2 revenue of $7.530 billion is expected
• Q2 EBITDA of $2.223 billion is expected
• EPS of $0.93 is expected
• The average broker rating for AstraZeneca is ‘buy’
• The share price of AstraZeneca is currently in a short term correction of a longer-term uptrend