Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2,618.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 734 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in 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 purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $66.84 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. 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 fifty day moving average price is $66.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.22. The stock has a market cap of $207.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for 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%. AstraZeneca’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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, 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, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.