J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,981 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 663 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 41,200,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,062,000 after purchasing an additional 538,606 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,298,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,332,000 after purchasing an additional 196,401 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in AstraZeneca by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,712,000 after buying an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $92.60 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $94.01.

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

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.