Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 61,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,822,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 168.0% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 536 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.02. 2,350,443 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,304,312. The company has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.