Orbimed Advisors LLC Makes New $132.18 Million Investment in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Orbimed Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 670,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,177,000. Astrazeneca comprises approximately 2.4% of Orbimed Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth about $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after buying an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,099,000 after acquiring an additional 3,702,185 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.3%

AZN opened at $168.68 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $142.98 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $180.55 and its 200 day moving average is $188.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.53. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Company 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.