Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 32,448 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lessened its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,448 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $6,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Astrazeneca News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock traded down $6.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,594,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,245. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $266.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.68 and a 200 day moving average of $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 (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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.