Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,369 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,953 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth $188,476,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during 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 during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $67.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.48 and its 200 day moving average is $77.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.