AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,901 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 51.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,433,000 after buying an additional 15,642 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,485,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,918,016. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $80.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.49. The company has a market capitalization of $249.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.