Keel Point LLC Has $558,000 Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Keel Point LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 72.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,624 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first 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 period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at $1,157,593,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A combination with Bristol Myers Squibb could create a pharmaceutical company valued at approximately $400 billion, potentially ranking among the world’s largest drugmakers and providing greater scale, a broader product portfolio and possible cost synergies. AstraZeneca in talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400 billion megadeal
• Neutral Sentiment: The Financial Times reports that the companies have explored a deal in recent months, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions may not result in a transaction, leaving the timing, structure and valuation uncertain. AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on potential megadeal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that AstraZeneca could need to pay a substantial premium, assume additional debt or issue shares to fund such a large transaction. Regulatory scrutiny, integration challenges and execution risks could also weigh on the stock. Reports indicated a potential one-day decline of about 7%, which would be the company’s steepest since the 2024 U.S. presidential election. AstraZeneca shares drop after report on merger talks
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, AstraZeneca has seen a significant increase in short interest, indicating greater bearish positioning and potentially adding pressure to the shares. AstraZeneca sees significant increase in short interest

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

AZN opened at $169.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.02 and a 200-day moving average of $187.83.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

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.