Money Concepts Capital Corp Reduces Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Money Concepts Capital Corp cut its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,007 shares during the quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $3,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Wainua’s Phase 3 failure removes a potential growth driver and raises concerns about AstraZeneca’s ability to expand successfully beyond oncology. Reuters: AstraZeneca-Ionis drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage heart disease trial
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say the miss has hurt management credibility and triggered a sharp market selloff, with investors reassessing the value of AstraZeneca’s pipeline. Proactive Investors: AstraZeneca’s Wainua failure hurts credibility more than valuation, Jefferies warns
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still maintained a constructive view, with Bernstein reportedly reiterating a buy rating despite the setback, suggesting the longer-term thesis is not fully broken. Globe and Mail/Bernstein note: AstraZeneca receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has also expanded into legal overhangs, with a pending investigation notice adding another source of pressure on the stock. PR Newswire: AstraZeneca Investigation Notice

Astrazeneca Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock traded down $6.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $171.86. 3,594,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,047,245. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.