Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 10,938 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 55% compared to the average daily volume of 7,067 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $86.61. 3,006,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,131,635. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $86.87. The company has a market capitalization of $268.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.60.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.