SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 196,772 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1,170.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,587 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 196,772 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $13,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $68.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.26 and a 200-day moving average of $74.28. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $212.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.