ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 932,624 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 277,765 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $163,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxfendy (baxdrostat) won U.S. approval as the first aldosterone synthase inhibitor for adults with uncontrolled hypertension, giving AstraZeneca a first-in-class drug in a large market and raising expectations for meaningful future sales. Article: AstraZeneca’s blood pressure drug wins U.S. approval
• Positive Sentiment: Enhertu received FDA approval for two new HER2-positive early breast cancer settings, expanding the antibody-drug conjugate’s use and potentially boosting AstraZeneca’s oncology revenue through a broader patient population. Article: AZN, Daiichi’s Enhertu Gets FDA Nod for Two New Breast Cancer Settings
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted AstraZeneca’s broader pipeline momentum, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s growth story, but without adding new material information beyond the FDA wins. Article: AstraZeneca wins US approval for first-in-class blood pressure drug and expands cancer treatment Enhertu

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 assumed coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $183.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current 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.