Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,876 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,202 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $7,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in AstraZeneca by 173.4% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,764,000 after buying an additional 2,376,032 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,047 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,764 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $95.16 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.85 and its 200 day moving average is $81.64. The firm has a market cap of $295.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $96.51.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AZN. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.