GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Purchases 4,772 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,358 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Tiller Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $69.60. The stock had a trading volume of 6,768,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,252,689. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.78 and a 200-day moving average of $70.60.

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