Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its AstraZeneca stake by 4.3% in the second quarter, selling 20,670 shares and retaining 455,278 shares valued at approximately $86.3 million.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, beating estimates of $2.50, while revenue reached $15.38 billion and grew 6.4% year over year, narrowly missing expectations.
• Shares opened at $162.62, below the consensus analyst price target of $206.67. Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with 13 Buy, two Hold and one Sell rating.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,278 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,670 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $86,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after purchasing an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock worth $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company's stock worth $3,034,456,000 after buying an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE AZN opened at $162.62 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.65 and a 200 day moving average of $183.69.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.67.

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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