Blair William & Co. IL Sells 1,842 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in Align Technology by 2.4% in the first quarter, holding 73,607 shares valued at approximately $11.69 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Align Technology during recent quarters, with Covestor Ltd leading with a 14.6% increase in the fourth quarter.
• Align Technology reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting $2.49 EPS against an estimate of $2.57, with revenues also falling short at $1.01 billion.

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,607 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 1,842 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.10% of Align Technology worth $11,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Align Technology Stock Performance

ALGN stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.88. 1,727,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,215,649. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.70 and a 52 week high of $262.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.61.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. Align Technology's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical equipment provider to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Align Technology news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan acquired 7,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $131.49 per share, for a total transaction of $996,168.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,318,418.05. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.