169,590 Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System disclosed a new first-quarter stake in AstraZeneca, buying 169,590 shares valued at about $32.98 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains largely constructive: multiple firms reiterated buy ratings, and AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $211.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.58 versus $2.52 expected and revenue of $15.29 billion, while analysts still see full-year EPS around 10.28.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 169,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,982,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Signet Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $2,565,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 83,424 shares of the company's stock worth $7,669,000 after purchasing an additional 14,576 shares during the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,598,000. QP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $810,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 223.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,888 shares of the company's stock worth $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 20,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $164.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $255.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.58. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: AstraZeneca is facing investor-law-firm investigations after the Wainua trial miss and the related stock drop, adding headline risk and potential litigation over alleged securities claims. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca and lowered its price target after the Wainua setback, saying the failure removes a central support for the company’s bullish outlook and leaves a tougher catalyst path ahead. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A second investor alert from Levi & Korsinsky highlighted the Wainua phase 3 miss and encouraged shareholders to seek recovery of losses, reinforcing the negative sentiment around the trial failure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS remained constructive ahead of AstraZeneca’s second-quarter results, saying it expects solid earnings but limited room for full-year guidance increases. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca also announced an exclusive global licensing deal for a lung-cancer pill from China’s Dizal Pharmaceutical, paying $600 million upfront with up to $900 million in milestones. The deal could strengthen its oncology pipeline and supports longer-term growth. Article Title

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.

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