Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires 5,455 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,577 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,455 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 88,980 shares of the company's stock worth $6,540,000 after acquiring an additional 11,668 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 40,270 shares of the company's stock worth $2,960,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 1,536 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $72.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business's quarterly 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 anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

About AstraZeneca

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AZN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.