Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 23,183 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Bleakley Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 26.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,183 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $12,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca struck an exclusive global license deal for the lung-cancer drug Zegfrovy, a move that could strengthen its oncology pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating ahead of second-quarter results, saying AstraZeneca should deliver solid earnings and revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts from both the U.S. and U.K. cited a mixed setup, with some optimism on near-term results but limited scope for AstraZeneca to raise full-year guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to Hold and cut its price target after the Wainua Phase 3 failure, saying the setback weakens the stock’s bull case. Article Title

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $183.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.67. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.