Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 205,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,069 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the third quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $67.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.47. 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 simple moving average of $72.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.58. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.