Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Phoenix Financial Ltd. trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 804,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,938 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $61,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $31,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 144.0% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $94.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.84. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $96.51.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.