AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $14,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 173.4% in the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307,047 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,764 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7%

AZN opened at $94.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $293.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.97. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $96.51.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.