Osaic Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Osaic Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,208 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 376.0% during the second quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight 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, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $91.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.79. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $94.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.