J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 166,477 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 7,317.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,752 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166,477 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $32,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after buying an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Wainua’s Phase 3 failure removes a potential growth driver and raises concerns about AstraZeneca’s ability to expand successfully beyond oncology. Reuters: AstraZeneca-Ionis drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage heart disease trial
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say the miss has hurt management credibility and triggered a sharp market selloff, with investors reassessing the value of AstraZeneca’s pipeline. Proactive Investors: AstraZeneca’s Wainua failure hurts credibility more than valuation, Jefferies warns
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still maintained a constructive view, with Bernstein reportedly reiterating a buy rating despite the setback, suggesting the longer-term thesis is not fully broken. Globe and Mail/Bernstein note: AstraZeneca receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has also expanded into legal overhangs, with a pending investigation notice adding another source of pressure on the stock. PR Newswire: AstraZeneca Investigation Notice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $171.86 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-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 earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.