First American Bank Trims Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

First American Bank decreased its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 47.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,009 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,773 shares during the quarter. First American Bank’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.1%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $182.98 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $185.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current 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.