Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 19,406 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 48.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,406 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca struck an exclusive global license deal for the lung-cancer drug Zegfrovy, a move that could strengthen its oncology pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating ahead of second-quarter results, saying AstraZeneca should deliver solid earnings and revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts from both the U.S. and U.K. cited a mixed setup, with some optimism on near-term results but limited scope for AstraZeneca to raise full-year guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to Hold and cut its price target after the Wainua Phase 3 failure, saying the setback weakens the stock’s bull case. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $263.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.38 and its 200 day moving average is $188.67.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.