AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Stock Position Raised by FourThought Financial Partners LLC

FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,455 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,785 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 376.0% during 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, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6%

AstraZeneca stock opened at $91.52 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $91.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.05.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

About AstraZeneca

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.