Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $55.65 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 849,388 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,505 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $55,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $1.23 on Thursday, hitting $66.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,942,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,892,312. The stock has a market cap of $207.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.62.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.

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.