Soleus Capital Management L.P. Takes $26.80 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Soleus Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 409,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,798,000. AstraZeneca makes up 1.7% of Soleus Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Tiller Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $69.95. 3,409,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,176,314. The stock has a market cap of $216.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.06 and a 200 day moving average of $69.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

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

AstraZeneca Company 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.