AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Position Lessened by Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida trimmed its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,971 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 38.4% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $66.84. 5,353,299 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,999,309. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $207.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.