Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 75.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,328 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AZN opened at $79.08 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $80.86. The stock has a market cap of $245.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.20.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 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.