EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 7,802 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 38.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,238 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,802 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $3,664,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $440,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,613.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 653,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,828,000 after buying an additional 629,581 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.33 and a 200-day moving average of $69.75. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.