Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC cut its AstraZeneca stake by 55.6% in the first quarter, selling 42,210 shares and leaving it with 33,768 shares valued at about $6.66 million.
• Despite some mixed institutional activity, analysts remain largely bullish on AstraZeneca: 13 analysts rate it a Buy, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $211.
• AstraZeneca recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.58 EPS on $15.29 billion in revenue, while the stock was trading at $164.55, below both its 50-day and 200-day averages.

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 55.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,768 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,210 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $6,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $164.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average price is $183.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.58. The stock has a market cap of $255.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. On average, analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca News Roundup

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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