CAMBRIDGE, England — AstraZeneca said it plans to end trading of its American depositary shares on Nasdaq after the market closes Jan. 30 and begin trading its ordinary shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, Feb. 2. The AstraZeneca NYSE listing is the latest move in a shareholder-approved effort to simplify how the drugmaker’s shares and U.S.-listed debt trade across markets, Jan. 20, 2026.
In a company statement detailing the change, AstraZeneca said its ADSs represent its $0.25 ordinary shares on a two-for-one basis. The company said the ordinary shares will trade on the NYSE under the ticker AZN, while its U.S. dollar debt securities are also expected to move from Nasdaq to the NYSE.
The AstraZeneca NYSE listing is expected to look more like a conversion than a strategic pivot for most investors. In an SEC filing about the “harmonised listing structure”, AstraZeneca said the ADR program will be terminated and the ADSs canceled in exchange for the ordinary shares they represent, with some limits around fractional entitlements.
AstraZeneca NYSE listing: key dates and what to watch
- Friday, Jan. 30: Expected final trading day for AstraZeneca ADSs and certain U.S.-listed debt securities on Nasdaq; withdrawal becomes effective after market close.
- Monday, Feb. 2: Expected first day of NYSE trading for AstraZeneca ordinary shares and those U.S.-listed debt securities.
The company’s current Nasdaq page for AZN still describes the U.S. line as “American Depositary Shares,” underscoring that the AstraZeneca NYSE listing replaces the depositary-share structure with a direct listing of ordinary shares.
A Reuters report said AstraZeneca will keep the AZN ticker and that the shift is designed to let investors trade ordinary shares across the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm and the NYSE under a unified framework, while also moving away from ADS trading in the United States.
How the AstraZeneca NYSE listing came together
The new timetable follows earlier steps that set the stage for this week’s notice. In 2020, AstraZeneca shifted its U.S. ADR equity and U.S.-listed debt securities to Nasdaq, with trading expected to start Sept. 25, 2020, according to a prior AstraZeneca announcement.
When the NYSE plan surfaced in September 2025, it drew scrutiny in the UK about whether London risked losing marquee listings even as AstraZeneca said it would remain listed and headquartered in Britain, as reported by The Guardian. The newspaper quoted Chair Michel Demaré saying the structure would help the company “reach a broader mix of global investors.”
Shareholders later approved the restructuring by 99.36% of votes cast, according to a Reuters report from Nov. 3, 2025, and the Financial Times described the decision as a way to deepen access to U.S. capital while keeping AstraZeneca’s primary listing in London.
Between now and the Feb. 2 start date, brokers and shareholders will be watching the operational details — including when ADS positions convert and how any fractions are handled — as the AstraZeneca NYSE listing shifts the plumbing behind the familiar AZN ticker.
