Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Rossmore Private Capital

Rossmore Private Capital lessened its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 49.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,709 shares during the quarter. Rossmore Private Capital’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $6,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avid Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at $26,000. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $2,264,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1,093.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 1,469.2% in the 1st quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 167,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,489,000 after buying an additional 156,940 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE AZN traded down $6.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,594,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

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

Key Stories Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Wainua’s Phase 3 failure removes a potential growth driver and raises concerns about AstraZeneca’s ability to expand successfully beyond oncology. Reuters: AstraZeneca-Ionis drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage heart disease trial
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say the miss has hurt management credibility and triggered a sharp market selloff, with investors reassessing the value of AstraZeneca’s pipeline. Proactive Investors: AstraZeneca’s Wainua failure hurts credibility more than valuation, Jefferies warns
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still maintained a constructive view, with Bernstein reportedly reiterating a buy rating despite the setback, suggesting the longer-term thesis is not fully broken. Globe and Mail/Bernstein note: AstraZeneca receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has also expanded into legal overhangs, with a pending investigation notice adding another source of pressure on the stock. PR Newswire: AstraZeneca Investigation Notice

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.