Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 31,725 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 31,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,901,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Professional Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the second quarter worth about $30,241,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the second quarter valued at about $2,296,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,680,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth $1,221,000. Finally, S&CO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,101,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $156.38 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $145.79 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $242.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $174.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.27.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.