AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,082 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,098 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $16,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,133 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 35.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,283,000 after acquiring an additional 261,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,939,000 after buying an additional 701,779 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $89.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.17. The company has a market capitalization of $276.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $89.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.