Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 349.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,537 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.05 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.31. The company has a market cap of $211.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.