Axa S.A. Purchases 6,995 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Axa S.A. grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,995 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $32,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,764,000 after buying an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the second quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 535,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,446,000 after acquiring an additional 72,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $89.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $94.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.66 and a 200-day moving average of $78.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.