Wick Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Wick Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,634 shares during the quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after buying an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after buying an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after buying an additional 1,790,874 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $174.87 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AZN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.