AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,681 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $35,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 41,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 3,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $63.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $197.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.51. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 30.30%. The company had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

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.