Paragon Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 120.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,203 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,507 shares during the quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.96 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.79.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.