World Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 4,430 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 115.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,267 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth $72,437,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $816,509,000 after acquiring an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $205.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.96 and a 200-day moving average of $76.64.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results 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. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.