Centaurus Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 72.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,037 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.3 %

AZN stock opened at $67.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.72 and its 200 day moving average is $77.58.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS 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.