Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $31,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 93.2% in 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.8%

AZN opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.10. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $275.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.