Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 108.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,127 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $184.90 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $134.13 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $286.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

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.