Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 23,183 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,226 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,183 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $12,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in Astrazeneca by 7,317.7% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 168,752 shares of the company's stock worth $32,658,000 after buying an additional 166,477 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 166.2% in the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 197 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 160.3% in the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 103,991 shares of the company's stock worth $20,203,000 after buying an additional 64,033 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 184.0% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the company's stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 7,681 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC lowered Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.00.

Key Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca struck an exclusive global license deal for the lung-cancer drug Zegfrovy, a move that could strengthen its oncology pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating ahead of second-quarter results, saying AstraZeneca should deliver solid earnings and revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts from both the U.S. and U.K. cited a mixed setup, with some optimism on near-term results but limited scope for AstraZeneca to raise full-year guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to Hold and cut its price target after the Wainua Phase 3 failure, saying the setback weakens the stock’s bull case. Article Title

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $263.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $183.38 and its 200-day moving average is $188.67. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $137.23 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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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