American Trust Sells 285 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

American Trust cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% in the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 8,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 249.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 5,975 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth about $224,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,576,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,959,000 after buying an additional 13,396 shares during the period. Finally, SFG Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $206.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.18 and its 200 day moving average is $76.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS 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.