Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

Key Points

• Azenta hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $17.38 (last $18.79) after reporting EPS of ($0.04) versus analysts' $0.10 and revenue of $144.8M versus $148.3M, knocking the stock down roughly 23.5% from the prior close of $24.61.
• Analysts are mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold with an average target of $41.33, while several firms have adjusted ratings and trimmed price targets.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 99.08%, with major investors like Vanguard and Conestoga significantly increasing their stakes recently.

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $17.38 and last traded at $18.7890, with a volume of 602893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.61.

The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.14). Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.34% and a positive return on equity of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $144.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. Azenta's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AZTA shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Azenta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Azenta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Azenta currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Azenta by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,538,946 shares of the company's stock worth $150,965,000 after purchasing an additional 99,588 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 116.1% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,844,546 shares of the company's stock worth $60,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528,145 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,866,531 shares of the company's stock worth $62,081,000 after purchasing an additional 167,969 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Azenta by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,732,755 shares of the company's stock worth $57,631,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 16.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,914 shares of the company's stock worth $34,183,000 after purchasing an additional 225,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Stock Down 23.5%

The stock has a market cap of $866.99 million, a P/E ratio of -13.95 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.23.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc NASDAQ: AZTA is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end‐to‐end sample tracking workflows.

In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta's Genomics business delivers next‐generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services.

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