6,094 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Bought by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,114,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,635 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 208.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE AZN traded up $6.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.21. 3,333,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,691. The firm has a market cap of $251.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $153.41 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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, United Kingdom. Its research, development and commercial operations focus on prescription medicines for serious and chronic diseases, with an emphasis on discovering and delivering innovative therapies rather than operating as a diversified healthcare conglomerate.

The company’s principal therapeutic areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunological conditions; and rare diseases.