Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Invests $14.88 Million in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 194,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,884,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.3% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.2% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $89.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $96.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.23.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.