GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 573,535 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 10,431.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 579,033 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 573,535 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $42,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,457,706,000 after purchasing an additional 686,008 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,032,000 after purchasing an additional 212,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,090,000 after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.35. 3,974,754 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,190,408. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.