HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 455,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,670 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $86,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.0%

AZN stock opened at $162.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $145.79 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.65 and its 200 day moving average is $183.69.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Astrazeneca

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.