AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Holdings Reduced by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 515,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,821 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $40,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,565,000 after acquiring an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,458,000 after acquiring an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded 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 given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $67.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.48 and its 200-day moving average is $77.50. The company has a market cap of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. 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 issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current 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.