Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 13,964 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,565 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,964 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $193.40 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $122.48 and a twelve month high of $193.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $101.84 and its 200-day moving average is $88.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.25, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS 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.