NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $66.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $207.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.23.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.