Cherokee Insurance Co Makes New $839,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.6%

AstraZeneca stock opened at $87.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $89.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.95. The company has a market cap of $271.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.