264,627 AstraZeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its AstraZeneca stake by 9% in the third quarter, selling 264,627 shares; it retained 2.67 million shares valued at about $439 million.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: 16 analysts rated the stock Buy and three Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $206.67 price target.
• AstraZeneca beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.79 in earnings per share and $16.21 billion in revenue; revenue rose 6.5% year over year.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,672,883 shares of the company's stock after selling 264,627 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.17% of AstraZeneca worth $439,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 4.1% in the third quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 11,866 shares of the company's stock worth $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.9% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $1,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,760 shares of the company's stock worth $8,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.67.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $186.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $289.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. AstraZeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $153.41 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.19. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 31.85% and a net margin of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $16.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries.

AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.

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