Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,301 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.4% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the first quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7%

AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,991,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,268,368. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.90. The company has a market cap of $213.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two 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 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 company had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.