With the caveat that it’s not a certain a British ISA might ever come to fruition, the premise and discussion around one still affords a great opportunity to look at some of our free-site writers’ favourite companies on the UK market right now! AstraZeneca What it does: AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company specialising in oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular, and other areas. By . I’ve viewed ( ) as a perfect starter stock for a few years now.
Therefore, I’d happily add it to my SIPP, ISA, UK ISA, or whatever investing account acronym comes along next. And the recent Q1 results have only served to strengthen my view. The firm beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines and confirmed a 7% increase to the dividend for 2024.
Its oncology revenue grew 26% to $5.12bn. Meanwhile, its other businesses, including rare diseases, also saw double-digit growth during the quarter.
One issue is that R&D and marketing costs are rising, which is worth keeping an eye on. However, this is aimed at driving future growth, so I’m not too worried. Another potential risk is the increasing criticism of CEO Pascal Soriot’s pay package.
He may decide enough is enough and retire or move to the US, where high pay for success isn’t such an issue. Having overseen a 300%+ share price increase inside 12 years, he would be sorely missed. Despite nearing an all-time high, the stock still seems reasonably valued at 17.
5 times forward earnings. Burberry What it does: Burberr.
