Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,296,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Professional Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the second quarter worth about $30,241,000. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $636,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,680,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 335,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,832,000 after buying an additional 25,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,221,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $158.14 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.65. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $145.79 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $245.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

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.