Profund Advisors LLC Purchases 4,684 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $9,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 932,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,676,000 after acquiring an additional 277,765 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 965,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,401,000 after purchasing an additional 7,012 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 56,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth $386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.3%

AZN opened at $183.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $285.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.29. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. Barclays upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxfendy (baxdrostat) won U.S. approval as the first aldosterone synthase inhibitor for adults with uncontrolled hypertension, giving AstraZeneca a first-in-class drug in a large market and raising expectations for meaningful future sales. Article: AstraZeneca’s blood pressure drug wins U.S. approval
• Positive Sentiment: Enhertu received FDA approval for two new HER2-positive early breast cancer settings, expanding the antibody-drug conjugate’s use and potentially boosting AstraZeneca’s oncology revenue through a broader patient population. Article: AZN, Daiichi’s Enhertu Gets FDA Nod for Two New Breast Cancer Settings
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted AstraZeneca’s broader pipeline momentum, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s growth story, but without adding new material information beyond the FDA wins. Article: AstraZeneca wins US approval for first-in-class blood pressure drug and expands cancer treatment Enhertu

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.