AstraZeneca Plc $AZN Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Holdings

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,672,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264,627 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $439,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Amundi increased its position in AstraZeneca by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,088,000 after buying an additional 1,036,635 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 889.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 208.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,419,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.1%

AZN opened at $186.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $166.48 and its 200-day moving average is $180.22. AstraZeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $153.41 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. HSBC lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries.

AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.