Fermata Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Capital International Investors raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,457,706,000 after purchasing an additional 686,008 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,032,000 after purchasing an additional 212,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,090,000 after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $72.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca 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.

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