Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,761 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,986 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $254,018,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock worth $198,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083,645 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 815.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,073,630 shares of the company's stock worth $70,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,630 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.26. 3,697,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,271,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.70. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $214.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.87.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.