AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,560,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 460,303 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.05% of AstraZeneca worth $109,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in 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 during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $93.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $289.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $93.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.