Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Short Interest Update

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,080,000 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the August 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 708,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Align Technology Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ALGN stock opened at $325.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $354.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.92. Align Technology has a twelve month low of $172.05 and a twelve month high of $413.20. The company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.93, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.63.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.09. Align Technology had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.87 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Align Technology will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ALGN. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Align Technology from $383.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Align Technology from $385.00 to $406.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Align Technology from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $450.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.33.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $323,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,558 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, American Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.07% of the company's stock.

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, China, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Clear Aligner; and Imaging Systems and CAD/CAM Services (Systems and Services).

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