E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $77.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,972,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,319,074. The stock has a market cap of $240.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $77.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.58. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

About AstraZeneca

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.