Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 1,754 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,754 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $206.50 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 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.