Parnassus Investments LLC Has $577,000 Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,606 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,525,000 after purchasing an additional 29,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,565,000 after buying an additional 488,644 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,458,000 after buying an additional 186,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $63.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.06. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $197.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, 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, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.