10 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy According to Steve Cohen

7. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Point72 Asset Management Equity Stake: $117.79 Million

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is one of the best defensive stocks to buy, according to Steve Cohen. On September 7, the company announced positive clinical trial results involving Tagrisso in combination with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy.

The trial results showed that the combination extended the lives of some lung cancer patients by a median of 47.5 months. It is the longest survival benefit ever recorded in a late-stage study of the condition.

“The latest FLAURA2 trial results set a new survival standard for patients, with Tagrisso plus chemotherapy demonstrating a median overall survival of nearly four years in first-line advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer, surpassing the three-year benchmark established in the FLAURA trial,” said AstraZeneca oncology haematology research and development executive vice-president Susan Galbraith.

The safety profile of the combination under trial remained consistent and manageable over longer follow-up periods. Therefore, it aligns with the known profiles of the individual medicines. Tagrisso is AstraZeneca’s top-selling cancer drug. While the drug generated $6.6 billion in 2024, the company is exploring its benefits when combined with other cancer treatments.

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing, and marketing innovative medicines for the treatment of various diseases. It focuses on treatment in areas such as oncology, cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases, as well as rare diseases.