Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Acquired by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,559 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $5,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings started coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.8%

AZN opened at $181.62 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $136.16 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.92.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Astrazeneca

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.