Sapient Capital LLC Acquires 4,962 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 136.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,962 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $161.80 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $175.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.98.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 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.