AstraZeneca (ADR) (AZN)

AstraZeneca sits about 6% below its longer-term price average, even as its sales and profits keep growing.

What is going on right now?

The stock is around $170, which is above where it's been trading over the past month or two, but still noticeably below where it spent most of the past year.

How is the business itself doing?

AstraZeneca makes cancer drugs like Tagrisso, Imfinzi, and Enhertu. Revenue grew about 6% and earnings rose roughly 2.5%, and the company generates enough cash, around $5.1 billion a year, to fund its own growth while still paying out almost half of its profits to shareholders.

What stands out?

It keeps about 82 cents of every dollar of sales after production costs, which is unusually high. Its price barely reacts to broad market swings: when the overall market moves a dollar, AstraZeneca historically moves about 21 cents.

What comes next?

Its next earnings report is due October 30, and it will show whether those cancer treatments are still gaining ground. Separately, possible swings in the British pound tied to UK government bond stress could nudge the stock, since AstraZeneca is based in the UK.