Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Buys 1,525 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,402 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 15.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $63.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.73 and a 1-year high of $76.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.15.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 30.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, andcommercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.