Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 965,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,012 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Astrazeneca worth $169,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $184.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $191.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 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 quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo won FDA approval for Enhertu in two additional early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer settings, expanding the drug’s addressable market and strengthening the company’s oncology pipeline. AZN, Daiichi’s Enhertu Gets FDA Nod for Two New Breast Cancer Settings
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA also approved Baxfendy (baxdrostat), AstraZeneca’s first-in-class hypertension drug, which could become a meaningful new growth driver in a large cardiovascular market and may support expectations for multibillion-dollar peak sales. AstraZeneca’s blood pressure drug wins U.S. approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary on the FDA wins raised questions about valuation and the pace of long-term growth, suggesting investors may balance the near-term enthusiasm against execution and pricing concerns. AstraZeneca’s New FDA Wins Raise Questions On Growth And Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for AstraZeneca to $10.17 from $10.25, though that remains close to the consensus of $10.26 and does not materially change the earnings outlook.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Barclays raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average 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.