Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Stock Holdings Lifted by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its AstraZeneca stake by 160.3% in the first quarter, ending with 103,991 shares worth about $20.2 million.
• AstraZeneca’s stock fell to $171.86 in Friday trading, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, despite still carrying a market cap of about $266.5 billion.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but investors are also weighing fresh negative headlines, including a late-stage drug trial failure and a pending investigation notice.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 160.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,991 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,033 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 0.9% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $20,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock worth $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock worth $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock worth $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN traded down $6.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.86. 3,594,756 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,047,245. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $266.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Wainua’s Phase 3 failure removes a potential growth driver and raises concerns about AstraZeneca’s ability to expand successfully beyond oncology. Reuters: AstraZeneca-Ionis drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage heart disease trial
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say the miss has hurt management credibility and triggered a sharp market selloff, with investors reassessing the value of AstraZeneca’s pipeline. Proactive Investors: AstraZeneca's Wainua failure hurts credibility more than valuation, Jefferies warns
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still maintained a constructive view, with Bernstein reportedly reiterating a buy rating despite the setback, suggesting the longer-term thesis is not fully broken. Globe and Mail/Bernstein note: AstraZeneca receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has also expanded into legal overhangs, with a pending investigation notice adding another source of pressure on the stock. PR Newswire: AstraZeneca Investigation Notice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.00.

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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