Parnassus Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,237,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,285 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Astrazeneca worth $217,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 162.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $182.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $283.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $189.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.85.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.