Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Raises Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,368 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. 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 research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.4 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $65.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $201.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 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.