SG Americas Securities LLC Has $339,000 Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,616 shares of the company's stock after selling 208,971 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 781 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,133,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,216,608. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. AstraZeneca's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.