AstraZeneca AZN stock has declined 19.5% in the past six months despite solid underlying financial performance. A key reason behind the decline was back-to-back pipeline setbacks.
In July, Wainua’s CARDIO-TTRansform study failed to meet its primary endpoint in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy or ATTR-CM, limiting its expansion beyond the smaller hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy or ATTRv-PN market. Ultomiris also failed to achieve statistical significance in a phase III study in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy. In August, AstraZeneca discontinued the phase III eVOLVE-Lung02 study of experimental bispecific antibody volrustomig in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
In April, an FDA advisory committee voted against recommending AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug candidate camizestrant. Subsequently, in May, the FDA announced it would delay its decision on the camizestrant NDA, adding further uncertainty around the program.
However, pipeline setbacks like these should not form the basis of an investment decision. Let’s understand AZN’s strengths and weaknesses to better analyze how to play the stock amid the latest price decline.
Diversified Portfolio of Blockbuster Drugs Aids AZN’s Growth
AstraZeneca boasts a diversified geographical footprint as well as a product portfolio with several blockbuster medicines.
AstraZeneca now has 16 blockbuster medicines, including Tagrisso, Fasenra, Farxiga, Imfinzi, Lynparza (partnered with Merck [MRK]), Soliris and Ultomiris in its portfolio, with sales (product sales and alliance revenues) exceeding $1 billion. These drugs drove AstraZeneca’s 6% top-line growth and 11% core EPS at CER in the first half of 2026, backed by increasing demand trends. Almost every new product that has been launched in recent years has done well.
Newer drugs like Wainua, Airsupra, Saphnelo, Datroway (partnered with Daiichi Sankyo) and Truqap also contributed to top-line growth.
Oncology Remains AstraZeneca’s Key Growth Engine
Oncology is AstraZeneca’s biggest segment. The segment contributes roughly 46% of total product sales and continues to be the company’s primary growth driver.
AstraZeneca’s oncology sales were $14.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up 15% at constant exchange rate (CER). The strong oncology performance was driven by robust demand for drugs like Tagrisso, MRK-partnered Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Key new cancer drugs in AstraZeneca’s portfolio, Truqapand Datroway, co-developed with partner Daiichi, are also contributing to sales growth. Etcamah/camizestrant, an oral SERD, was approved for HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer in the EU in July 2026 while it is under review in the United States.
AstraZeneca is working to strengthen its oncology product portfolio through label expansions of existing products. AstraZeneca also possesses one of the deepest late-stage oncology pipelines in the industry. AstraZeneca’s key oncology pipeline candidates include sonesitatug vedotin, surovatamig and rilvegostomig, targeting gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma, hematologic malignancies, NSCLC and gastrointestinal cancers.
AZN Eyes $80B Revenues by 2030 With a Strong Launch Pipeline
AstraZeneca has set itself some visible targets for the next few years. It expects to generate $80 billion in total revenues by 2030. By the said time frame, AstraZeneca plans to launch 20 new medicines, with around 11 already launched/approved. Two new drugs, Etcamah in breast cancer and Baxfendy in hypertension, are already approved this year.
AstraZeneca believes that many of these new medicines, like Datroway, Etcamah and Baxfendy, have peak-year revenue potential of more than $5 billion. Beyond these launches, AstraZeneca also boasts a broad portfolio of late-stage assets that are expected to deliver pivotal data before 2030, including multiple programs with multi-blockbuster potential. AstraZeneca expects a rich catalyst path ahead with twenty high-value readouts due over the next 18 months.
Several Headwinds Hurting AZN’s Top Line
AstraZeneca faces its share of challenges. The loss of exclusivity of mature brands like Brilinta, Pulmicort and Soliris is hurting sales. Generic versions of one of the company’s major drugs, Farxiga, have been launched in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan and China, and revenues are declining sharply.
China, though an important market for AstraZeneca, remains a somewhat uncertain market due to pricing pressure from volume-based procurement (VBP) programs and ongoing legal and compliance investigations involving the company’s former China head, Leon Wang. China contributes roughly 12% of the company’s revenues.
AZN Stock’s Price, Valuation & Estimates
AstraZeneca’s stock has declined 11.7% so far this year against an increase of 13.0% for the industry.
AZN Stock Underperforms Industry
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From a valuation standpoint, AstraZeneca is decently valued. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.76 forward earnings, lower than 18.55 for the industry. AZN’s stock is also trading below its 5-year mean of 17.34. The stock is, however, cheaper than other large drugmakers like Eli LillyLLY, AbbVie, Merck, Gilead and J&JJNJ.
AZN Stock Valuation
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has declined from $10.28 per share to $10.19 per share over the past 60 days. For 2027, earnings estimates have declined from $11.50 per share to $11.38 per share over the same timeframe.
AZN Estimate Movement
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Stay Invested in AZN Stock
AstraZeneca’s stock has declined this year, accompanied by downward revisions to earnings estimates. In addition, several of the company’s established medicines are facing patent expirations and pricing pressures, creating uncertainty about whether revenues from these mature products can be replaced quickly enough by newer launches and pipeline candidates. The company has also experienced several recent clinical setbacks,
However, despite the headwinds, AZN expects continued revenue and earnings growth in 2026. It expects total revenues to grow by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage at CER in 2026, while core EPS is expected to increase by a low double-digit percentage at CER. The company is also on track to achieve a mid-30s percentage core operating margin by 2026.
Considering AZN’s growth prospects, one should stay invested in this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).