First Foundation Advisors Has $15.12 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 34.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,169 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,700 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,951,000 after buying an additional 1,951,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 346.3% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,696,000 after buying an additional 1,102,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,929,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,929,956. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.36 and its 200-day moving average is $71.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $80.86. The company has a market capitalization of $244.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS 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.