Argus analyst John Eade raised his price target on AstraZeneca to $50 and kept his Buy rating, saying the stock has outperformed over the past quarter thanks to the pipeline developments that are returning the company to growth. The analyst notes that the company's future growth should be driven by its checkpoint inhibitor Imfinzi, and he sees the program tracking toward a billion-dollar blockbuster status from $338M reported in Q2. Eade further notes that AstraZeneca management has made efforts to address the ongoing pricing pressure and generic threats to its former blockbusters Nexium and Crestor by reducing costs and assembling a new drug pipeline.

Consensus $4.56. Backs FY24 revenue view up low double-digit to low teens percentage, consensus $50.95B. Sees FY24 core tax rate 18%-22%.

Bearish flow noted in AstraZeneca with 3,362 puts trading, or 1.7x expected. Most active are 4/26 weekly 70 puts and May-24 70 calls, with total volume in those strikes near 3,600 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 1.72, while ATM IV is up nearly 2 points on the day. Earnings are expected on April 25th.