Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $364,000 Position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a new stake in Align Technology, purchasing 2,290 shares valued at approximately $364,000 in the first quarter.
• Align Technology reported a miss in earnings for the last quarter, with earnings per share at $2.49, while the consensus estimate was $2.57, and revenue decreased by 1.6% year-over-year.
• The company has approved a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating that leadership believes its shares are undervalued, with plans to buy back up to 7.9% of outstanding shares.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,290 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Align Technology Price Performance

ALGN stock traded down $2.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.07. 1,423,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,194,701. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.70 and a 1 year high of $262.87. The firm's 50 day moving average is $185.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.61.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.08). Align Technology had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $250.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan acquired 7,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $131.49 per share, with a total value of $996,168.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 184,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,318,418.05. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

About Align Technology

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.