Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,421 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,129 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.13% of Azenta worth $2,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Azenta in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Azenta by 20.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Azenta by 150.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of AZTA opened at $50.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.69 and its 200-day moving average is $49.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.82 and a fifty-two week high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $169.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In other Azenta news, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.48 per share, with a total value of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,018 shares of company stock valued at $126,689. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Azenta from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azenta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Azenta Company Profile

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.