Sage Rhino Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sage Rhino Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 49.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,258 shares during the quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.3%

Astrazeneca stock traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $192.65. The stock had a trading volume of 478,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,478,874. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.