Citi analyst Liav Abraham believes Calcalist's report of Teva (TEVA) hiring away AstraZeneca's (AZN) CEO Pascal Soriot has credibility given the "relatively accurate track record" of the Israeli press in the "leaking" of information pertaining to Teva. The news, if confirmed, would be a "material positive" for Teva over the near to medium term, Abraham tells investors in a research note. She believes Soriot would "lend significant credibility" to Teva's turnaround thesis. On the other side, Soriot leaving would increase concerns over the pending outcome of AstraZeneca's MYSTIC trial, which constitutes the dominant near-term driver for the shares, Abraham argues. She has a Buy rating on Teva with a $42 price target. The stock in premarket trading is up 2% to $32.80. AstraZeneca is down 14c to $32.78.

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.