Comerica Bank Grows Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,430 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,080 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.34% of Azenta worth $7,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Azenta during the 4th quarter worth $47,350,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Azenta by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,577,881 shares of the company's stock worth $78,894,000 after acquiring an additional 621,830 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Azenta during the 4th quarter valued at $25,403,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Azenta by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,405,056 shares of the company's stock worth $70,183,000 after purchasing an additional 447,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the 4th quarter worth $20,469,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Trading Down 1.4 %

AZTA traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.33. 335,279 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 667,718. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -9.17 and a beta of 1.64. Azenta, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.91 and a 1 year high of $63.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $31.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.14.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Azenta to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

About Azenta

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.