1. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)
Soros Fund Management’s Stake Value: $191.87 Million
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) ranks first on our list of the top 10 holdings of George Soros, accounting for 3.43% of his portfolio. Soros increased his position in the stock by 513% from the previous quarter. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
In the second quarter of 2024, the company logged $25.62 billion in revenue, up by 18%. Of this, product revenue was $24.6 billion, accounting for 96% of total sales. For the fiscal year 2024, AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) expects revenue to grow by mid-teen percent.
In the first half of 2024, the company spent $799 million in capital expenditures and expects total capex for 2024 to increase by 50% due to increasing capacity and capabilities. After garnering tremendous attention for its COVID-19 vaccine, the company is now racing to find a cure for cancer. Its oncology department is currently focusing on six scientific platforms to find a treatment for cancer with the lowest mortality rate.
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) plans to invest another $80 billion by 2030 to accelerate projects in its pipeline and execute new programs. During the same period, the company expects to launch 20 new medicines that will return potentially $5 billion in sales every year. AZN’s consistent performance and foreseeable trajectory to becoming a novel drug maker explains why 49 hedge funds were bullish on the stock at the end of Q2 2024. Based on ratings from 30 analysts, the stock’s price target represents an upside of 16% from its current level.
Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2024 investor letter where it talked about AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN):
“Performance in pharmaceuticals and health care distributors was bolstered by solid gains from AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) and McKesson Corporation, respectively. AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on three main therapy areas based on its core competencies: oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and respiratory illnesses. AstraZeneca’s shares increased given incremental positive news flow (LAURA, ADRIATIC, and DESTINY-Breast06 clinical trials) surrounding the oncology franchise. The company also published long-term guidance for the first time, projecting $80 billion in revenue by 2030, or 75% higher than 2023’s $45.8 billion. This projection implies an annual growth rate of 8% over seven years, compared with the 5% to 7% targets set by GSK and Johnson & Johnson and the 5% target set by Novartis.”
Overall, AZN ranks first among the top 10 holdings of George Soros. While we acknowledge the potential of healthcare companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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