Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Share Price Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Align Technology shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $166.78 and last at $166.97, compared with the average of $168.56.
• Analysts lowered several price targets, but the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy”, with an average target of $193.08.
• The latest quarter slightly beat expectations: earnings were $2.80 per share versus a $2.77 estimate, while revenue rose 1.9% year over year to $1.01 billion.

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $168.56 and traded as low as $166.78. Align Technology shares last traded at $166.97, with a volume of 790,072 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $188.00 to $175.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Align Technology from $210.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.08.

Align Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.50 and a 200 day moving average of $168.56.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.03. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.96% and a net margin of 11.83%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Align Technology's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 11,650 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the third quarter valued at $1,656,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Align Technology by 2,551.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,634,638 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $217,332,000 after buying an additional 1,572,987 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the third quarter valued at $686,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Align Technology by 939.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,176,557 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $7,069,459,000 after buying an additional 48,059,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company's stock.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets digital orthodontic and restorative dentistry products. Its best-known offering is the Invisalign system, which uses a series of custom-made clear aligners to straighten teeth. The company also sells Vivera retainers and iTero intraoral scanners, which support digital dental imaging and treatment planning. Founded in 1997, Align helped popularize clear-aligner orthodontic treatment as an alternative to traditional braces. Its digital dentistry portfolio also includes exocad software, used by dental professionals and laboratories to design dental restorations.

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