SFE Investment Counsel Acquires New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $73.68. The stock had a trading volume of 5,766,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,770,284. The business's 50 day moving average is $71.08 and its 200-day moving average is $71.07. The company has a market cap of $228.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.