Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Acquires 32,775 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,891,426 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,775 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 5.2% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $540,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Management increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. HSBC lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $162.83 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $145.79 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $252.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.