Prospector Partners LLC Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Prospector Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,055 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.72.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 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.