Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Purchased by Logan Capital Management Inc.

Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,131 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,547 shares during the quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $10,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $182.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $189.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 EPS 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.