Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases 6,553 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 297,777 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,553 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $22,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 134,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,308,000 after buying an additional 10,779 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 12,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 244,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,775,000 after acquiring an additional 6,635 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 21.6% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 96.2% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 77,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 38,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $94.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.84. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $96.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $292.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current 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.