Azenta, Inc. $AZTA Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Azenta, Inc. by 4.6%, owning approximately 4.67% of the company after selling over 103,000 shares.
• Azenta reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.19, exceeding estimates, but its revenue was down from analyst expectations.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now hold 99.08% of Azenta's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,134,194 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,778 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 4.67% of Azenta worth $73,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Azenta by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Azenta by 90.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 14,719 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,491 shares of the company's stock worth $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 5,408 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Price Performance

NASDAQ AZTA traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.92. The company had a trading volume of 493,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 718,215. The firm's 50 day moving average is $31.35 and its 200 day moving average is $32.38. Azenta, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.91 and a fifty-two week high of $55.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.40 and a beta of 1.59.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.35% and a negative net margin of 18.45%.The company had revenue of $143.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZTA shares. Evercore ISI set a $33.00 target price on shares of Azenta and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Azenta from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Azenta in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.75.

Azenta 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.