Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Align Technology from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Align Technology from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $268.20.

Align Technology Stock Performance

ALGN traded down $1.32 on Monday, reaching $217.56. The company had a trading volume of 667,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,879. Align Technology has a 52-week low of $196.09 and a 52-week high of $335.40. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.46.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $977.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $990.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Align Technology will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 49.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,634,600 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $670,031,000 after purchasing an additional 866,663 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Align Technology by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,750,805 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $443,810,000 after buying an additional 21,605 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,831 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $310,736,000 after buying an additional 367,508 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Align Technology by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 753,026 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $191,510,000 after buying an additional 45,484 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 96.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 674,319 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $171,493,000 after acquiring an additional 330,807 shares in the last quarter. 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.