AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Acquired by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 535,650 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,563 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $37,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.9%

AZN stock opened at $93.24 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $93.41. The firm has a market cap of $289.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

About AstraZeneca

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.