Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stephens

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) was upgraded by research analysts at Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $50.00. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 21.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AZTA. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Azenta Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $49.50 on Wednesday. Azenta has a 12-month low of $38.82 and a 12-month high of $69.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -16.67 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.45.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. The firm had revenue of $170.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Azenta will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In related news, CEO John Marotta bought 12,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. This trade represents a 14.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,298,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,783,000 after acquiring an additional 100,826 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Azenta by 16.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,970,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,331,000 after purchasing an additional 421,719 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,686,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,718,000 after purchasing an additional 6,398 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,917,000 after purchasing an additional 183,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Azenta by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,844,000 after purchasing an additional 53,584 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.