Optas LLC Sells 7,018 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Optas LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,018 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca by 14.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after purchasing an additional 262,465 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 31.0% during the third quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 83,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 19,648 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 53.8% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,016,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Astrazeneca

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca announced a strategic collaboration with Abbisko Therapeutics to advance a Phase I/II clinical trial of lumipodlin (ABSK043) combined with Tagrisso for non-small cell lung cancer, adding another pipeline development opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AZN’s cancer drug Enhertu won another EU approval for HER2-positive solid tumors, extending its commercial footprint and reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s oncology franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs and Bank of America both reaffirmed “buy” ratings on AstraZeneca, while Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate, signaling continued analyst confidence in earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate style-score coverage from Zacks highlighted AZN as both a strong value stock and a strong momentum stock, which may have supported buying interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat noted that AstraZeneca’s shares have recently traded below some valuation-based fair value estimates, suggesting the stock still screens as expensive despite the recent rally.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $194.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.91 and its 200 day moving average is $187.76. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $302.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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 released its 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. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current 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.