Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. OTR Global reiterated a mixed rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Align Technology currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $306.88.

Align Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $222.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.46. Align Technology has a 52 week low of $176.34 and a 52 week high of $374.90.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Align Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Align Technology will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. bought 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,647,366.51. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Align Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Align Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 854.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 105 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% 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, 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.