Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Quantum Portfolio Management LLC

Quantum Portfolio Management LLC reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: AstraZeneca said its Wainua drug failed to meet the main goal in a Phase III trial for a serious heart disease, a setback that hit investor confidence because the medicine had been one of the company’s more closely watched pipeline assets. Reuters article on Wainua trial failure
• Negative Sentiment: The trial failure was described as a significant valuation hit, with reports saying the stock dropped nearly 10% in London trading and erased roughly £19 billion from AstraZeneca’s market value. Proactive Investors article on valuation impact
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported earlier in the week that AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo were nearing a UK pricing deal for the breast cancer drug Enhertu, which could support the company’s commercial outlook if finalized. Reuters article on Enhertu pricing deal
• Neutral Sentiment: AstraZeneca also announced a new respiratory-drug licensing deal with Sino Biopharmaceutical worth up to $1.9 billion, including $200 million upfront, underscoring continued pipeline investment even as the market focuses on the trial miss. Reuters article on Sino Biopharma licensing deal

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.9%

AZN opened at $189.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS 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.