AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by Osaic Holdings Inc.

Osaic Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 159,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,208 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $91.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $283.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.79. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $94.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.