D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,512 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at $715,198,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after acquiring an additional 233,015 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,294,000 after acquiring an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,971,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,469,000 after purchasing an additional 96,201 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $78.54. 3,566,580 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,299,819. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.80 and a 200 day moving average of $67.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $79.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current 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.