Quantitative Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Quantitative Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 108.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,176 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,741 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its position in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,375,659 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 208.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $162.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.95 and a 200-day moving average of $184.57. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $145.79 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $251.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Company 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.