Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 552.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,697,895 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $973,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Visionary Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $178.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $189.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released 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. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.