Azenta, Inc. $AZTA Shares Purchased by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Azenta, Inc. by 6.3%, now owning approximately 2.20% of the company, valued at $34.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, significantly boosted their holdings in Azenta, indicating strong interest in the stock.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed sentiment, with Raymond James upgrading Azenta to an "outperform" rating, while others maintain a "hold" rating, suggesting a consensus price target of $35.75.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,006,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,892 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 2.20% of Azenta worth $34,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Azenta during the 4th quarter worth $20,469,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 21.4% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,915,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,355,000 after buying an additional 337,675 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Azenta during the first quarter worth about $11,604,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Azenta during the fourth quarter worth about $15,000,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Azenta by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 355,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,769,000 after acquiring an additional 173,699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Trading Down 1.7%

AZTA traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $29.77. 327,604 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,756. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.15. Azenta, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.91 and a twelve month high of $55.63. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 1.59.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.35% and a negative net margin of 18.45%.The business had revenue of $143.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZTA. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Azenta from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens began coverage on Azenta in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $33.00 target price on Azenta and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.75.

About Azenta

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.