Broker snap: Panmure says AstraZeneca up with events after strong run

25th Apr 2013 09:54

First-quarter results from AstraZeneca were broadly in line with forecasts with the stock is up with events after a good run of late, according to Panmure Gordon.Core earnings per share came in at 141 cents in the first three months of the year, ahead of the consensus forecast of 135 cents and in line with Panmure's estimate. Meanwhile, revenues of $6.39bn were below what the consensus ($6.5bn) and Panmure ($6.6bn) were expecting.Gross margins however were a "real bright spark", said analyst Savvas Neophytou, coming in a 82.2% (forecast: 80%). He said that this illustrates the "operational cost flexibility" Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth has been instilling for years. The broker has kept its 'hold' rating and 3,200p target price for the stock."Overall we have been advocating taking profits in recent weeks whilst the share price defies gravity. These results were not likely to change anyone's stance on the stock, with bigger challenges further down the line," Neophytou said."The shares trade at a discount as they deserve to and re-inflating R&D tends to be a fix which takes a long time. Structurally sound but it takes a long time."The share price was down 2.6% at 3,301.72p by 09:54.BC