Simon Quick Advisors LLC Has $365,000 Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 62.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $168.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day moving average is $188.44. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $261.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.