Jennison Associates LLC Cuts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,964,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,059,108 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,165,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AZN opened at $63.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $197.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.34 and a 200 day moving average of $78.06. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during 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. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.