Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $8.64 Million Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Kestra Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 56.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,779 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $8,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after buying an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.38 and a 200-day moving average of $188.67. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca struck an exclusive global license deal for the lung-cancer drug Zegfrovy, a move that could strengthen its oncology pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating ahead of second-quarter results, saying AstraZeneca should deliver solid earnings and revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts from both the U.S. and U.K. cited a mixed setup, with some optimism on near-term results but limited scope for AstraZeneca to raise full-year guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to Hold and cut its price target after the Wainua Phase 3 failure, saying the setback weakens the stock’s bull case. Article Title

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.