D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $2.34 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,689 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second 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. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the second quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $94.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $96.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.