Truist Financial Corp Has $76.78 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,000,772 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,019 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $76,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 144.0% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.5%

AstraZeneca stock opened at $93.22 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $96.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $92.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.