Arkadios Wealth Advisors Cuts Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors cut its AstraZeneca stake by 49.6% in the first quarter, selling 21,150 shares and retaining 21,533 shares valued at approximately $4.25 million.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, beating estimates of $2.50, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion, slightly below expectations.
• Despite mixed institutional trading and a share price of $169.77, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $211.00.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,533 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,150 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,680,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 335,387 shares of the company's stock worth $30,832,000 after buying an additional 25,004 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,573,000 after buying an additional 6,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 276,150 shares of the company's stock worth $25,386,000 after acquiring an additional 5,326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $169.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $145.79 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $263.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $179.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.77.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.Astrazeneca's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.

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