Copley Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,000. Astrazeneca accounts for 0.5% of Copley Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $178.79 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.16. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.