15,262 Shares in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Bought by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,262 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $515,000. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Align Technology by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Align Technology by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 123,892 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $25,833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Align Technology by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 9,406 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,961,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Align Technology by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 29,838 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $6,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Align Technology Stock Performance

ALGN stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $188.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,878,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,056. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.73. The company has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.64. Align Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.74 and a twelve month high of $263.24.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.13. Align Technology had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $979.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $977.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Align Technology declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical equipment provider to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALGN. UBS Group lowered 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. HSBC lowered shares of Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Align Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Align Technology from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $241.25.

Align Technology 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.