Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 140,246 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 78.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140,246 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $7,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $173.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $145.79 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.74 and a 200-day moving average of $187.89.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca 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.