Sapient Capital LLC Purchases 4,962 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 136.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,592 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after buying an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $162.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.94. The firm has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $145.79 and a twelve month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca 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.