Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 142,227 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 18.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 929,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,227 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $182,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the fourth 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 period. Vista Investment Management boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $182.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.69. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $137.23 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS 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.