Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 194,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,763,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 688,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,090,000 after buying an additional 107,722 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 370,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,259,000 after buying an additional 22,995 shares during the last quarter. Parkwood LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 118,199 shares of the company's stock worth $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 45,514 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 59,213 shares of the company's stock worth $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.81. 3,742,544 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,185,747. The company has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.45. 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 twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

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 analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.