IFP Advisors Inc Grows Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 160.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,567 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,738 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake 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 stake in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE AZN opened at $187.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $290.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.86.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.