OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 36,387 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 550.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,998 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,387 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $3,066,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,857,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 78,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,472,000 after acquiring an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at approximately $320,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $91.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.81 and a 200-day moving average of $78.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $283.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.32. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $94.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

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.