South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 2,300 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,306 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Align Technology were worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $417,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Align Technology by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 29,057 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Align Technology by 185.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,287 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Align Technology by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 29,511 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $6,153,000 after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Align Technology by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 6,651 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Align Technology Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ ALGN traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $201.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 254,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,464. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $186.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.08. Align Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.74 and a twelve month high of $262.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.63.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $979.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.90 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.52%. Align Technology's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Align Technology declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical equipment provider to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALGN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC lowered shares of Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Align Technology from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.92.

Align Technology Company Profile

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.