Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 78.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,482 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after buying an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after buying an additional 1,790,874 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $190.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $296.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $184.38 and its 200-day moving average is $187.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.