Scientech Research LLC Makes New $407,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Cox Capital Mgt LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $77.62 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.10.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company 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.