Seascape Capital Management Reduces Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Seascape Capital Management trimmed its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,251 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca makes up 1.4% of Seascape Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AZN opened at $194.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.25. The company has a market capitalization of $302.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.