Breakwater Capital Group Trims Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Breakwater Capital Group lowered its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,914 shares during the quarter. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,595,000 after purchasing an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 6.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 14.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after purchasing an additional 262,465 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP grew its position in Astrazeneca by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 83,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 19,648 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AZN opened at $185.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $287.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $184.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.