AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,224 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,064 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 118.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 346.3% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.42 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.60. The stock has a market cap of $243.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Argus increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.