Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds cut its AstraZeneca stake by 69.7% in the first quarter, selling 43,900 shares and retaining 19,100 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million.
• Other institutional investors made significant purchases, including the Swiss National Bank and SEB Asset Management, while Bank of New York Mellon and Arrowstreet Capital sharply increased their holdings. Institutions and hedge funds own 20.35% of AstraZeneca’s shares.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $2.63, beating expectations, while revenue rose 6.4% to $15.38 billion but slightly missed forecasts. The company maintained its full-year outlook, though a late-stage Ultomiris trial failure and divided analyst views remain concerns.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 69.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,900 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $3,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702,185 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: AstraZeneca reported adjusted EPS of $2.63, above the $2.50 consensus estimate. Revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion, narrowly missing expectations, while oncology, cardiovascular and rare-disease medicines helped offset generic competition. AstraZeneca beats second-quarter profit expectations, holds outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year outlook maintained: Management backed its 2026 forecasts, helping reassure investors that strength in key growth franchises can offset weaker sales, product exclusivity pressure and challenges in China. AstraZeneca earnings beat forecasts despite slight revenue miss
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive: Citi raised its price target to 17,800 pence, citing AstraZeneca’s potential drug pipeline and long-term revenue ambitions. AstraZeneca's drug pipeline is splitting opinion among City analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Pricing strategy is changing: An executive said AstraZeneca is adjusting pricing for new U.S. drug launches in response to the Trump administration’s most-favoured-nation policy. The changes could affect future pricing and margins, but the financial impact remains uncertain. AstraZeneca drug prices evolving in response to Trump policy
• Negative Sentiment: Pipeline setback adds pressure: Rare-disease drug Ultomiris failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage trial involving a blood-vessel complication after stem-cell transplantation, renewing concerns about AstraZeneca’s longer-term growth pipeline. AstraZeneca's rare disease drug misses main goal in late-stage trial
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views are divided: Deutsche Bank reiterated a “sell” rating with an 11,500-pence valuation, highlighting uncertainty around pipeline execution and future growth. In addition, Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential investor claims, which could create legal and reputational overhang. Pomerantz investor alert regarding AstraZeneca

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE AZN opened at $172.41 on Wednesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $145.14 and a twelve month high of $212.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $267.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $180.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.95.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.95%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.