AstraZeneca full-year results: where next for the share price?

AstraZeneca will unveil its full-year results on Valentine’s Day (14 February), with investors hoping the drug maker will beat estimates for a fifth consecutive quarter and drive its share price higher.

Over the last 12 months, the drug maker’s back-to-back earnings streak has helped its share price soar, with the stock up 33% – outperforming the broader market, with the FTSE 100 up just 5% over the same period.

AstraZeneca’s share price has also outperformed rivals like GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, with the former up 9% over the last 12 months to £16.98 as of 14:32 (GMT) on Wednesday, while the latter is down close to 9% to $38.06.

AstraZeneca is trading at £76.70 a share.

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AstraZeneca: technical analysis

Shares in Astrazeneca have been on a relatively consistent rise over the years, with 2019 providing a welcome ramp-up in the rate of growth for the stock, according to senior market analyst at IG, Josh Mahony.

‘That uptrend is something we can utilise for our benefit, with a continuation expected until the price tells us otherwise,’ Mahony said.

‘The rebound seen last week came from a pullback into trendline and Fibonacci (61.8%) support, with that rally providing confidence that the rising channel remains relevant.’

While we are seeing some weakness today, this is likely to be a precursor to further gains,’ he added.

You can go long or short AstraZeneca with IG using derivatives like CFDs.

The four-hour chart highlights how the rebound seen last week provided a push through the £77.21 resistance level, negating the creation of lower highs that have been playing out since the January peak of £79.48.

This points towards a likely end to that period of weakness and a resumption of the wider bullish trend. With that in mind, any further short-term downside would be deemed a good buying opportunity so long as the price does not break below £73.98.

Investors should watch for whether AstraZeneca breaks below £76.10 to bring about that short-term period of weakness and retracement of the £73.98 - £78.03 rally. Should that pullback occur, this stock would look like good value around the 61.8-76.4% Fibonacci zone (£74.94 - £75.53).