First Western Trust Bank Acquires New Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 375.6% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $77.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,972,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,319,074. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $77.64.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.