Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 14,711 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,312 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,711 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.0% in the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 16,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $65.68 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.69. The stock has a market cap of $203.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.