CW Advisors LLC Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

CW Advisors LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 106.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,438 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,047 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,764 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 406.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621,974 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,133 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $96,936,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $90.18 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $94.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

AstraZeneca 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.