MW AstraZeneca shares show signs of life after successful trials of hypertension drug

By Jules Rimmer

Positive high-level results in trials of its baxdrostat drug to treat hypertension provided AstaZeneca shares with a much-needed fillip on Monday.

Having slumped almost 20% from March highs, AstraZeneca $(AZN)$ (UK:AZN) stock was still trading in negative territory for 2025 until Monday's announcement placed it among the top performers across European bourses.

"Baxdrostat BaxHTN Phase III trials on patients with uncontrolled or treatment-resistant hypertension demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in mean-seated systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared with placebo after twelve weeks," the company said in a press release.

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, affects 1.3 billion people worldwide and can lead to a higher risk of cardiac arrest, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease. AstraZeneca's executive vice president for research and development, Sharon Barr, lauded the drug's "potential to address a critical unmet need by targeting aldosterone dysregulation, bringing a novel mechanism to a field that has seen little innovation in two decades."

Aldosterone is a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure and dysregulaton refers to an imbalance in its production.

The new drug presents a substantial opportunity for AstraZeneca with Bank of America's analyst Sachin Jain estimating a $70 billion addressable market in the U.S. alone. The company expects peak annual sales of $5 billion annually, as a standalone therapy and in combination with another of its drugs, farxiga.

At the same time, there has been recent media speculation about AstraZeneca possibly signing a deal worth as much as $15 billion with Summit Therapeutics $(SMMT)$ to license its lung cancer drug, ivonescimab.

Earlier in July, a report that AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot wanted to shift its primary share listing to New York prompted a short-term jump in the stock. AstraZeneca $(AZN.UK)$ already has an American Depositary Receipt listing in the U.S.

With a market capitalization of GBP162 billion ($218.3 million), the largest in the FTSE-100 index, such a step would have huge political ramifications as well as commercial considerations for the London Stock Exchange.

Although AstraZeneca has underperformed the S&P SPX by more than 7% in 2025, it remains popular with investment analysts. Of the nineteen brokers with a stock recommendation monitored by Factset, only three rated the company a hold, none a sell and the remainder buy or overweight. The median target price was GBP13.77, roughly 30% above the current share price.

-Jules Rimmer

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July 14, 2025 08:50 ET (12:50 GMT)

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