Citi Reiterates Neutral On AstraZeneca
In a note out today, Citigroup reiterated a neutral rating and $43.46 price target on pharma giant AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) while lowering its 2012 and 2013 EPADR estimates on the stock.
"We rate AstraZeneca Neutral. We believe that lower R&D spend and higher Crestor EBIT will drive beats in core EPADR 2012E-13E, however this will be insufficient to compensate for the lack of internal or external business development activities. The long-term outlook for core EPADR of a -3% CAGR (2013E-18E) continues to look unattractive vs. the sector average of 5.3%. We debate the outlook for AZN's long-term R&D returns vs. peers. We believe the company will continue to return excess cash to shareholders, and forecast a share buyback of $5 billion during 2012E," Citi said in the note.
