Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd Takes Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,049,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $398,270,000. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 6.7% of Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd owned 0.13% of Astrazeneca at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $188.58 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.05. The company has a market capitalization of $292.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

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.