Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 19,406 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its AstraZeneca stake by 48.9% in the first quarter, selling 19,406 shares and leaving it with 20,285 shares worth about $4.0 million.
• AstraZeneca reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $2.58 and revenue of $15.29 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $211, though Deutsche Bank kept a Sell rating and recent trial setbacks have led to some caution.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 48.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,406 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth about $26,000. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,264,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1,093.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 955 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 1,469.2% during the 1st quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 167,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,489,000 after buying an additional 156,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. 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 Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $263.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $183.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.67.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Thirteen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca News Summary

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 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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