Prospera Financial Services Inc Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 112,958 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $7,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $84.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $262.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $86.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.