Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Stock Price Up 8.8% After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Azenta's shares surged 8.8% after it reported quarterly earnings of $0.19 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.13 EPS.
• The company's revenue for the quarter was $143.94 million, slightly below the expected $149.64 million, marking a 0% increase year-over-year.
• Brokerages have mixed ratings for Azenta, with Raymond James raising their rating to "outperform" and a price target of $35.00, while Needham lowered their target from $59.00 to $40.00.

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) were up 8.8% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $29.84 and last traded at $29.26. Approximately 178,564 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 769,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.90.

The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $143.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.64 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 18.45% and a positive return on equity of 1.35%. Azenta's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Azenta from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Azenta from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Azenta in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,033,171 shares of the company's stock worth $151,659,000 after buying an additional 26,929 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Azenta by 21.4% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,915,556 shares of the company's stock worth $66,355,000 after acquiring an additional 337,675 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,345,250 shares of the company's stock worth $42,725,000 after purchasing an additional 350,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,769,000 after purchasing an additional 297,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Azenta by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,006,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,879,000 after acquiring an additional 59,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.87 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.07 and a 200-day moving average of $34.65.

Azenta Company Profile

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.