Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $28.42 Million Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 135.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 161,954 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 93,186 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $28,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $189.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.72. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $294.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 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.