Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 51.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,531 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the first 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 boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AZN. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $189.41 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $184.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.61. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $293.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.