Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, OTR Global reiterated a mixed rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $306.88.

Align Technology Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ ALGN opened at $252.85 on Thursday. Align Technology has a fifty-two week low of $176.34 and a fifty-two week high of $335.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $232.50 and a 200-day moving average of $264.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Insider Activity at Align Technology

In other Align Technology news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. acquired 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $235.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Align Technology by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,107 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 52.5% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 122 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Align Technology by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Align Technology by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,876 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Company Profile

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.