Cozad Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Cozad Asset Management acquired 6,560 AstraZeneca shares worth approximately $1.27 million in the first quarter. Several other institutional investors also initiated positions, bringing institutional ownership to 20.35%.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 12 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $211 price target.
• AstraZeneca exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.63 in EPS versus the $2.50 consensus estimate. Revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion, although it narrowly missed revenue expectations.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,271,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth $38,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. HSBC lowered Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

AZN opened at $169.77 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $179.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $145.79 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released 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. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca 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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