ABC Arbitrage SA Sells 541,212 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

ABC Arbitrage SA cut its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 79.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 541,212 shares during the period. Astrazeneca makes up about 2.3% of ABC Arbitrage SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. ABC Arbitrage SA’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $24,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 750.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,628,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,147,000 after buying an additional 1,437,253 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $181.91 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.70 and its 200 day moving average is $181.39. The stock has a market cap of $282.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $132.32 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.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca 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.