Purpose Unlimited Inc. Makes New $12.90 Million Investment in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 73,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,897,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors raised its position in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management raised its position in Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 8th. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Twelve investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $174.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $271.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.25. 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 Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $186.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.37.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 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.