Signet Financial Management LLC Has $2.69 Million Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Signet Financial Management LLC decreased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 51.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,243 shares during the quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $164.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.58. 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 announced 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. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Key Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: AstraZeneca is facing investor-law-firm investigations after the Wainua trial miss and the related stock drop, adding headline risk and potential litigation over alleged securities claims. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca and lowered its price target after the Wainua setback, saying the failure removes a central support for the company’s bullish outlook and leaves a tougher catalyst path ahead. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A second investor alert from Levi & Korsinsky highlighted the Wainua phase 3 miss and encouraged shareholders to seek recovery of losses, reinforcing the negative sentiment around the trial failure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS remained constructive ahead of AstraZeneca’s second-quarter results, saying it expects solid earnings but limited room for full-year guidance increases. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca also announced an exclusive global licensing deal for a lung-cancer pill from China’s Dizal Pharmaceutical, paying $600 million upfront with up to $900 million in milestones. The deal could strengthen its oncology pipeline and supports longer-term growth. Article Title

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.