PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,580 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $18,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $64.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.