Sapient Capital LLC Grows Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 136.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,962 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $162.62 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.94. The company has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

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.