Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Basecamp Wealth Advisors cut its AstraZeneca position by 50% in the first quarter, selling 6,670 shares and retaining 6,666 shares valued at approximately $1.315 million.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.50, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion, slightly below estimates.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $211, compared with a recent price of $169.77.

Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,670 shares during the quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company's stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company's stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $169.77 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $145.79 and a one year high of $212.71. The business's fifty day moving average price is $179.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.83.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.00.

About Astrazeneca

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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