Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $1.28 Million Stock Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly increased its holdings in Azenta, Inc. by 499.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $1.28 million.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their target prices for Azenta, with estimates ranging from $33.00 to $40.00 and a consensus price target of $35.75.
• Azenta recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.19 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $0.13, though its revenue fell short of expectations at $143.94 million.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 499.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,947 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,788 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned about 0.08% of Azenta worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZTA. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Azenta by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 90.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,972 shares of the company's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 14,719 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 218,795 shares of the company's stock worth $10,940,000 after purchasing an additional 61,678 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 195.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,904 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of AZTA traded up $2.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.97. 392,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 776,074. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -13.26 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.98. Azenta, Inc. has a one year low of $23.91 and a one year high of $55.63.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $143.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AZTA shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Azenta in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Azenta from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Azenta from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.