Vantus Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 3,067 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Vantus Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 3.1%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $179.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $279.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.28.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly 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 firm 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.