Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Bank of Stockton

Bank of Stockton cut its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 56.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,123 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AZN opened at $192.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.53. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71.

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

Astrazeneca Company 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.