Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stake

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 96.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,660,409 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,308,232 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of Astrazeneca worth $429,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 32.6% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.9% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.9% during the third quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.7% during the third quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership expands pipeline potential: AstraZeneca entered an exclusive worldwide research collaboration with insitro to identify therapies for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and cardiomyopathies. The deal will combine insitro’s machine-learning and high-throughput biology platforms with AstraZeneca’s drug-development capabilities. AstraZeneca will pay approximately $40 million upfront, while insitro could receive up to $1.5 billion in milestone payments plus tiered royalties if products reach commercialization. The agreement offers AstraZeneca access to potential new targets while limiting near-term financial exposure. AstraZeneca enters new strategic collaboration with insitro
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish ahead of lung-cancer data: RBC Capital Markets maintained its “outperform” rating and 14,500 pence price target. RBC expects third-quarter revenue of $16.3 billion and core EPS of $2.61, modestly above consensus, while investors await the AVANZAR lung-cancer trial and AstraZeneca’s October 30 results. RBC keeps AstraZeneca at outperform ahead of AVANZAR lung cancer trial
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals increased speculative interest: Investors purchased 49,737 call options, approximately 1,415% above typical call volume. While options activity is not a fundamental indicator, the surge suggests heightened short-term bullish positioning or expectations of further catalysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rating change is modestly supportive: Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing a negative signal but stopping short of a bullish recommendation. Zacks upgrades AstraZeneca to hold

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. CICC Research started coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $198.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $166.65 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $153.41 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $258.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.31. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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.

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