Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,604,000 after purchasing an additional 466,745 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,342,000 after purchasing an additional 660,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxfendy (baxdrostat) won U.S. approval as the first aldosterone synthase inhibitor for adults with uncontrolled hypertension, giving AstraZeneca a first-in-class drug in a large market and raising expectations for meaningful future sales. Article: AstraZeneca’s blood pressure drug wins U.S. approval
• Positive Sentiment: Enhertu received FDA approval for two new HER2-positive early breast cancer settings, expanding the antibody-drug conjugate’s use and potentially boosting AstraZeneca’s oncology revenue through a broader patient population. Article: AZN, Daiichi’s Enhertu Gets FDA Nod for Two New Breast Cancer Settings
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted AstraZeneca’s broader pipeline momentum, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s growth story, but without adding new material information beyond the FDA wins. Article: AstraZeneca wins US approval for first-in-class blood pressure drug and expands cancer treatment Enhertu

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $183.97 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $285.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.