Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $5.90 Million Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management acquired 31,725 AstraZeneca shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.90 million. Institutional investors collectively own 20.35% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell rating; AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $211.
• AstraZeneca’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.63 in EPS versus $2.50 expected, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion.

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,901,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Professional Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,241,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,296,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,680,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,221,000. Finally, S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the second quarter valued at about $7,101,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Twelve research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $156.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $242.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $145.79 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.27.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 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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