West Family Investments Inc. Increases Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $63.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.68 and a 200 day moving average of $78.15. The company has a market capitalization of $196.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

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.