Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 9,203 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,823 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,203 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Martin Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 46.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.72.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share 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.