Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Align Technology received a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 15 analysts: eight issued buy ratings, one strong buy, and six holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $206.36.
• Recent analyst actions were generally positive, including price-target increases from Piper Sandler, Evercore, and Morgan Stanley; BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $209 target.
• Align’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations, with $2.64 in EPS and $1.06 billion in revenue, up 4.3% year over year. The company also authorized a $200 million share-repurchase plan, while institutional investors own 88.43% of outstanding shares.

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.3571.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Align Technology from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $209.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Align Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore raised their price objective on Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Align Technology Price Performance

ALGN stock opened at $181.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.58. Align Technology has a 12 month low of $122.00 and a 12 month high of $200.43. The company has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Align Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Align Technology will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Align Technology by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,643,221 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $725,039,000 after buying an additional 1,592,848 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Align Technology during the second quarter valued at about $745,370,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 37.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,497,535 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $187,521,000 after acquiring an additional 407,559 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Align Technology by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,490,503 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $232,742,000 after purchasing an additional 173,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Align Technology by 72.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,353,125 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $169,438,000 after purchasing an additional 566,488 shares during the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc NASDAQ: ALGN pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company's signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source