Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,587 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.0% during the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 5,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $89.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.23. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $89.43. The firm has a market cap of $276.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.