Wesbanco Bank Inc. Buys 26,391 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,122 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,391 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 38.4% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.32. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

About AstraZeneca

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.