Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,237,972 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,022 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 4.90% of Azenta worth $111,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Azenta by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Azenta by 305.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Azenta by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Azenta by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of AZTA stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.77. The stock had a trading volume of 254,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,406. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -8.99 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.50. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $63.58.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Azenta to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Azenta Company 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.