Nordea Investment Management AB Invests $754,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 1.19 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.