Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC lowered its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 56.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,278 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:AZN opened at $192.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $298.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. On average, analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZN. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

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.