AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Purchased by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,421 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth about $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.1%

AZN opened at $88.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $274.82 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.98 and a 200-day moving average of $76.04. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $89.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

About AstraZeneca

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.