Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $7.65 Million Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,583 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,528 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $7,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 21,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 56,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,915,000 after acquiring an additional 26,700 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 54,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,771 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 71,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,471,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $181.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $281.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.