Lido Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Lido Advisors LLC cut its AstraZeneca stake by 68.1% in the first quarter, selling 89,689 shares and leaving it with 42,073 shares valued at about $8.3 million.
• AstraZeneca reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $2.58 versus the $2.52 consensus and revenue of $15.29 billion versus expectations of $14.93 billion.
• Wall Street remains generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $211, even though some analysts still rate it a sell or hold.

Lido Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 68.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 89,689 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $8,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock worth $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $168.68 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $180.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.97. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $142.98 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.00.

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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