Proactive Investors - Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) have bounced back after falling on a report that chief executive Pascal Soriot is looking to step down, possibly as soon as next year.
Following a steep 4.1% drop on Monday morning, which wiped almost £7 billion of value off the shares, the shares rose 1.9% to 10,700p by lunchtime today, though still below the 10,830p where they finished last week.
The Frenchman has reportedly told friends that he is considering leaving "as soon as next year", the Daily Mail reported over the weekend, though there was said to be "no firm timeline", with the pharmaceuticals company's board or chairman not told anything yet.
Some analysts seemed to be sceptical about Soriot's departure.
Those at Barclays (LON:BARC) said: "We'd like to think that ongoing head of Biopharma R&D Mene Pangalos likely has a better perspective on this topic, who noted in Monday's Times that, 'Pascal has got a lot of years ahead of him and he works as hard and as intensely as he did when I first met him in 2012'."