Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Down 7.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Azenta shares fell 7.1% to about $39.68 in mid-day trading, with volume roughly 11% above the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $41.20 price target, although Needham reaffirmed a Buy rating and a $37 target.
• Azenta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.16 in EPS versus $0.11 expected and $161.18 million in revenue versus $149.31 million expected, while maintaining a negative net margin of 20.63%.

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) shares traded down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $40.35 and last traded at $39.6810. Approximately 1,032,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 927,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AZTA shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Azenta from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.20.

Azenta Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.47.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 20.63%.The business had revenue of $161.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.31 million.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Azenta in the second quarter valued at approximately $192,152,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 116.1% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,844,546 shares of the company's stock worth $60,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528,145 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 16.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,183,000 after buying an additional 225,867 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,550,101 shares of the company's stock worth $51,556,000 after purchasing an additional 419,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Front Street Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the second quarter valued at about $33,212,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Company Profile

Azenta, Inc NASDAQ: AZTA is a life sciences company that provides products and services for the management, storage, and analysis of biological and chemical samples. Its offerings support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and government research institutions, clinical research organizations, and other laboratories.

The company's products include automated sample storage systems, laboratory automation equipment, sample-management software, consumables, and cold-storage solutions designed to preserve and track biological materials.

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