AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 515,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,821 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $40,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.50. The stock has a market cap of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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