IFM Investors Pty Ltd Acquires 1,531 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,070 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Align Technology were worth $2,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Align Technology by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,014 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $372,299,000 after purchasing an additional 39,209 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,082,162 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $225,642,000 after buying an additional 158,312 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the fourth quarter worth $190,792,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Align Technology by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 736,936 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $153,659,000 after purchasing an additional 86,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Align Technology by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 731,846 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $152,597,000 after purchasing an additional 190,711 shares during the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Align Technology from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC lowered Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Align Technology from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $241.25.

Align Technology Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ALGN stock traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $195.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,258,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,187. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $141.74 and a one year high of $263.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $182.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.63.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.13. Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $979.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $977.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.