Citizens National Bank Trust Department Sells 13,426 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Citizens National Bank Trust Department decreased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,426 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AZN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Wainua’s Phase 3 failure removes a potential growth driver and raises concerns about AstraZeneca’s ability to expand successfully beyond oncology. Reuters: AstraZeneca-Ionis drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage heart disease trial
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say the miss has hurt management credibility and triggered a sharp market selloff, with investors reassessing the value of AstraZeneca’s pipeline. Proactive Investors: AstraZeneca’s Wainua failure hurts credibility more than valuation, Jefferies warns
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still maintained a constructive view, with Bernstein reportedly reiterating a buy rating despite the setback, suggesting the longer-term thesis is not fully broken. Globe and Mail/Bernstein note: AstraZeneca receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has also expanded into legal overhangs, with a pending investigation notice adding another source of pressure on the stock. PR Newswire: AstraZeneca Investigation Notice

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $171.86 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.73. The stock has a market cap of $266.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Profile

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.