Vestal Point Capital LP Purchases New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 475,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,122,000. AstraZeneca accounts for approximately 1.8% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 3,313.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 19,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.44. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.