Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Acquired by Sofinnova Investments Inc.

Sofinnova Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,632,334 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 808,401 shares during the period. Astrazeneca comprises approximately 11.7% of Sofinnova Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sofinnova Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Astrazeneca worth $286,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,595,000 after purchasing an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 20.4% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 42,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,289 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 6.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 14.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after acquiring an additional 262,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 8.4% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 79,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,136,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $137.23 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.10. The firm has a market cap of $275.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.