AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,850 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 16,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.60 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.