Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 50,859 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 42.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,859 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $13,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca agreed to pay $600 million upfront, with up to $900 million more in milestones, for worldwide rights to Dizal Pharmaceutical’s lung cancer pill Zegfrovy. The deal expands AstraZeneca’s oncology pipeline and could add a late-stage growth opportunity if development and sales targets are met. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS said it still expects AstraZeneca to post solid second-quarter results and kept a buy rating, suggesting the company’s core business remains healthy ahead of upcoming earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted that AstraZeneca appeared to absorb the impact of the Wainua Phase 3 failure better than some biotech peers, implying the setback may be more of a sentiment issue than a major fundamental hit for AZN. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to hold from buy after a key trial failure, saying the setback weakens the company’s bull case and reduces near-term upside. The bank also cut its price target, which can pressure shares. Article Title

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.38 and a 200-day moving average of $188.67. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $263.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current 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.