Summit Global Investments Takes Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,099,000 after acquiring an additional 3,702,185 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $169.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.13. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $142.98 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.