Sofinnova Investments Inc. Buys 808,401 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sofinnova Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 98.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,632,334 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 808,401 shares during the period. Astrazeneca accounts for approximately 11.7% of Sofinnova Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Sofinnova Investments Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $286,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3,350.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.10. The firm has a market cap of $275.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

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.