Saturna Capital Corp Sells 2,380 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Saturna Capital Corp reduced its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,633,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,380 shares during the period. AstraZeneca makes up about 1.5% of Saturna Capital Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Saturna Capital Corp owned about 0.05% of AstraZeneca worth $114,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 62.1% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 25,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 9,595 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 126.3% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 4,476 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $89.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $90.27.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.