58,415 Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Bought by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 58,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,331,000. Astrazeneca accounts for approximately 0.9% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after buying an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $188.58 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $292.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $184.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.93.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

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.