Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 32,764 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,371 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,764 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.68% of Align Technology worth $79,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,441,592 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,341,031,000 after purchasing an additional 185,187 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 58.7% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,937,555 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $307,800,000 after acquiring an additional 716,954 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Align Technology by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 736,936 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $153,659,000 after buying an additional 86,493 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Align Technology by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 731,846 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $152,597,000 after buying an additional 190,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Align Technology by 510.3% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 707,514 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $112,396,000 after buying an additional 591,588 shares during the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan purchased 7,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $131.49 per share, for a total transaction of $996,168.24. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 184,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,318,418.05. The trade was a 4.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC downgraded Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $154.00 price target (down previously from $249.00) on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Align Technology Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:ALGN traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $142.43. 1,110,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,051. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $127.70 and a one year high of $262.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.62.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.08). Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 11.04%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical equipment provider to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.