Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 619 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,741 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.80. 2,376,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,524,865. The company has a market cap of $238.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.80 and a 200 day moving average of $70.59. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current 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.