Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,960,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 117,162 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $152,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.8 %

AZN stock opened at $63.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $196.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share 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.