Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Align Technology stake by 11.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 128,428 shares valued at approximately $21.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 88.43%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, Capital International Investors, BlackRock and Invesco.
• Align Technology exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.64 EPS and $1.06 billion in revenue. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $206.36, versus a recent share price of $150.82.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,428 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,945 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Align Technology worth $21,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Align Technology by 16,665.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,294,119 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,242,186,000 after purchasing an additional 13,214,826 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Align Technology by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,643,221 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $725,039,000 after buying an additional 1,592,848 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the second quarter valued at approximately $745,370,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 37.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,497,535 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $187,521,000 after buying an additional 407,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,490,503 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $232,742,000 after buying an additional 173,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company's stock.

Align Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $150.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.65. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.00 and a 1 year high of $200.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.76.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALGN shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Align Technology from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.36.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc NASDAQ: ALGN is a global medical device company that designs, manufactures and markets products used in orthodontics and digital dentistry. Its best-known product is the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners intended to gradually straighten teeth and address certain orthodontic conditions under the supervision of dental professionals.

The company also develops digital dentistry technologies, including iTero intraoral scanners and related software, which create digital impressions and support orthodontic, restorative and implant treatment planning.

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