J.Safra Asset Management Corp Acquires New Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,827,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Astrazeneca by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AZN opened at $178.87 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.76. The firm has a market cap of $277.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Astrazeneca

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.