Vestal Point Capital LP Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 475,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,122,000. AstraZeneca comprises approximately 1.8% of Vestal Point Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 686,008 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,367,000 after buying an additional 357,894 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,032,000 after buying an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.27 on Thursday, hitting $69.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,409,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,176,314. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.06 and a 200 day moving average of $69.43. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $216.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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.