New England Research & Management Inc. Buys 9,800 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 159.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,950 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 85,127 shares of the company's stock worth $5,578,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 6,369 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 153.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 153,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,125,000 after buying an additional 93,071 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 459,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,110,000 after acquiring an additional 14,768 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock traded down $2.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.97. 4,261,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,204,318. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $220.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.35.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during 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%. AstraZeneca'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 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share 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.