Diversify Advisory Services LLC Has $1.53 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 76.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,380 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $254,018,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083,645 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 815.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,073,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,630 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock worth $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AZN traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,991,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,285,935. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.96. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $213.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.