Entropy Technologies LP Buys Shares of 9,439 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,657,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,874 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE AZN opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $188.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.