Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $9.49 Million Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,060 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,771 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $9,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 21.5% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 64,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,398 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 20.0% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,595,000 after purchasing an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 20.4% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 42,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 7,289 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 6.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 310,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,813,000 after purchasing an additional 19,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 6.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $186.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $288.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.84 and a 200-day moving average of $185.12. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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.