Karras Company Inc. Purchases New Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Karras Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,974,000. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 3.8% of Karras Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third 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. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after buying an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:AZN opened at $187.24 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $290.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $191.66 and a 200-day moving average of $182.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 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.