Six to buy
AstraZeneca
Fourth-quarter performance at this pharmaceutical giant disappointed, with core operating profit undershooting forecasts by 14%. That reflects falling sales from Covid treatments and rising spending on research and development (R&D), with the latter climbing to a chunky 24% of revenue in 2023 (up from 22% a year before). Those R&D investments should yield results eventually: Astra has one of the strongest pipelines in the sector. Exclude Covid products and total revenue rose by 15% last