Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Stake Lowered by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 290,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,227,801 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $47,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

More Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI drug-discovery partnership: AstraZeneca agreed to work with Insitro on therapies for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and cardiometabolic disease. The deal includes approximately $40 million in upfront payments and could be worth up to $1.5 billion through development, regulatory and commercial milestones. The agreement gives AstraZeneca access to Insitro’s machine-learning capabilities and potential new candidates, supporting the company’s longer-term pipeline strategy. AstraZeneca Strikes Up to $1.5 Billion AI Drug Discovery Deal With Insitro
• Positive Sentiment: Supportive RBC outlook: RBC Capital Markets reiterated its “outperform” rating and 14,500-pence price target. The bank expects third-quarter revenue of $16.3 billion and core EPS of $2.61, both modestly ahead of consensus, while investors await results on October 30 and updates on the AVANZAR lung-cancer trial. RBC keeps AstraZeneca at outperform ahead of AVANZAR lung cancer trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity surged: Investors bought nearly 49,737 call options, roughly 15 times typical daily call volume. This indicates heightened bullish speculation, but options activity alone does not confirm sustained buying or a fundamental change in valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed rating signal: Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing a negative ratings overhang but stopping short of a bullish recommendation. Zacks rating update

Astrazeneca Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of AZN stock traded up $5.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $167.41. 2,792,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,852. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.27. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $153.41 and a one year high of $212.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Its research, development and commercial operations focus on prescription medicines for serious and chronic diseases, with an emphasis on discovering and delivering innovative therapies rather than operating as a diversified healthcare conglomerate.

The company’s principal therapeutic areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunological conditions; and rare diseases.