Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Trading Down 9.4% – Here’s What Happened

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares fell 9.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.41 and last traded at $42.63. 407,093 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 493,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

Azenta Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -14.64 and a beta of 1.47.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, equities analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Azenta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Azenta by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 170,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,542,000 after purchasing an additional 9,969 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Azenta by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 171,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,566,000 after buying an additional 69,869 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 178.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 172,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,640,000 after buying an additional 110,758 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Azenta by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 444,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,226,000 after buying an additional 9,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

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.