Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 889.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca accounts for about 1.1% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,319,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,456,000 after acquiring an additional 15,375,659 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $173.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $145.79 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $179.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Company 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.