Professional Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,512 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca accounts for 3.1% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $22,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7%

AZN opened at $72.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.