Freedom Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 38.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,487 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $67.20 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.50. The company has a market capitalization of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.