National Pension Service Trims Stake in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Key Points

• The National Pension Service reduced its holdings in Align Technology by 99.8%, leaving it with just 265 shares after selling 123,627 shares in the first quarter.
• Align Technology's CEO Joseph M. Hogan purchased 7,576 shares at an average price of $131.49 per share, increasing his ownership by 4.27%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Align Technology reflect a shift, with Piper Sandler lowering its price target from $250.00 to $190.00, while the average price target is currently $215.00.

National Pension Service lessened its position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 99.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 265 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 123,627 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Align Technology were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 5.2% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 9,282 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 18.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 493 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 4.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC cut Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $290.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho set a $210.00 target price on Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Align Technology from $246.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Insider Transactions at Align Technology

In related news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan purchased 7,576 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $131.49 per share, with a total value of $996,168.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,318,418.05. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Align Technology Stock Performance

ALGN stock traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $143.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,644,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,959. The company has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.22. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.70 and a fifty-two week high of $262.87.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 13.36%. Align Technology's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. Align Technology has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Align Technology declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.