Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 5,635,812 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 546.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,315,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in Astrazeneca by 166.2% during the 1st quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca agreed to pay up to $1.5 billion for global rights to Zegfrovy (sunvozertinib) from Dizal, adding an already marketed EGFR therapy to its oncology pipeline and expanding its presence in non-small cell lung cancer, including key markets such as the U.S. and China. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The deal includes a $600 million upfront payment and could provide a new commercial growth driver, which may help offset recent worries around AstraZeneca’s pipeline and support longer-term revenue growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports repeated the same transaction details, reinforcing the strategic importance of the licensing move but adding little new information beyond the initial announcement. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-alert stories highlighted pending investigations tied to AstraZeneca and referenced the earlier Wainua trial miss, which had pressured shares after the Phase III CARDIO-TTransform study failed its primary endpoint in ATTR cardiomyopathy. Article Title

Astrazeneca Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $168.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $260.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 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.