Here's What Lifted AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) in Q4

Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter “Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. 2025 marked a positive period for the equity market. The S&P 500 Index returned 2.7% in Q4 and finished the year up 17.9%. The year started with potential disruptions and heightened volatility, while it ended with optimism driven by strong AI investment, clarity in policies, and U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cuts. The market’s performance was significantly affected by the communication services and technology sectors. From a return‑driver standpoint, the market expansion in the year was driven by earnings growth. The firm observes favorable conditions as 2026 approaches, and believes it can achieve another year of strong equity returns. The Fund holds net assets of $493.06 million across 48 holdings. Please review the Strategy’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund highlighted AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) as a notable contributor. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is a leading biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and manufactures prescription medicines.  On February 11, 2026, AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) stock closed at $204.76 per share. One-month return of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was 8.43%, and its shares gained 37.48% of their value over the last 52 weeks. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) has a market capitalization of $317.436 billion.

Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund stated the following regarding AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

"AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) reported third‑quarter financial results that surpassed analyst expectations and reaffirmed its outlook for operating margin improvements in 2026. The company also announced a constructive drug pricing agreement with the Trump administration, and presented impressive clinical trial results for a new drug to treat hypertension, which the company expects to have on the market by mid‑2026."

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 54 hedge fund portfolios held AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) at the end of the third quarter, up from 48 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) and shared a list of best future stocks to buy for the long term. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.