New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $13.74 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 45.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 196,658 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61,301 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $13,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the second 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 period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 376.0% during the second quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.67.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $90.85 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $94.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $281.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.32.

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

AstraZeneca Profile

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.