WESPAC Advisors LLC Sells 652 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

WESPAC Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 652 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 63.5% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,303,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,665,000 after buying an additional 506,465 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.1 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $65.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 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.