Hamilton Wealth LLC Has $633,000 Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Hamilton Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,269 shares during the period. Hamilton Wealth LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A combination with Bristol Myers Squibb could create a pharmaceutical company valued at approximately $400 billion, potentially ranking among the world’s largest drugmakers and providing greater scale, a broader product portfolio and possible cost synergies. AstraZeneca in talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400 billion megadeal
• Neutral Sentiment: The Financial Times reports that the companies have explored a deal in recent months, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions may not result in a transaction, leaving the timing, structure and valuation uncertain. AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on potential megadeal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that AstraZeneca could need to pay a substantial premium, assume additional debt or issue shares to fund such a large transaction. Regulatory scrutiny, integration challenges and execution risks could also weigh on the stock. Reports indicated a potential one-day decline of about 7%, which would be the company’s steepest since the 2024 U.S. presidential election. AstraZeneca shares drop after report on merger talks
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, AstraZeneca has seen a significant increase in short interest, indicating greater bearish positioning and potentially adding pressure to the shares. AstraZeneca sees significant increase in short interest

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $169.77 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $179.02 and its 200-day moving average is $187.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $145.79 and a 52 week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.