Centaurus Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Centaurus Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 53.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,568 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $169.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $263.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $145.79 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.80.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS 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.