Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Buys 13,605 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,712 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,605 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,241,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.54. The company had a trading volume of 3,566,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,299,819. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $79.36. The company has a market capitalization of $243.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.