AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 66.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,404 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 168.0% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.20 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.