Barclays On Four Big European Pharma Stocks

In a report published Friday, Barclays weighed in on big European pharma stocks.

The firm upgraded Merck & Company, Inc. MRK, from Underweight to Equalweight; and demoted:

-       Astrazeneca PLC AZN from Equalweight to Underweight

-       Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS: BAYRY)from Equalweight to Underweight

-       Shire PLC (ADR) SHPG from Overweight to Equalweight.

Over the past couple of months, several other research firms have issued ratings on these stocks. Let’s take a look.

Merck

On Thursday, Jefferies reiterated its Hold rating on Merck’s stock, but raised its price target from $65 to $69. Bernstein showed itself more bullish, and upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform on January 5.

Astrazeneca

Analysts are not big fans of Astrazeneca. Last December, Morgan Stanley also downgraded the stock from Equalweight to Underweight.

Bayer

Bayer’s case is opposite to Astrazeneca’s, as Morgan Stanley upgraded its stock from Equalweight to Overweight at the same time it cut its rating for Astrazeneca.

Shire

Although S&P Capital IQ recently downgraded Shire’s stock from a Strong Buy, the firm’s rating is still positive (Buy). Over the fourth quarter of 2014, CRT Capital and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey also issued Buy recommendations.