R Squared Ltd Has $537,000 Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

R Squared Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 54.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,310 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:AZN traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.08. 617,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,546. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.97 and its 200-day moving average is $188.38. 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 Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca 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.