AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $57.00. The stock had previously closed at $41.39, but opened at $49.80. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. AZEK shares last traded at $48.11, with a volume of 3,461,425 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AZEK from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AZEK from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $53.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of AZEK in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on AZEK from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.32.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 15,000 shares of AZEK stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.03, for a total transaction of $615,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 868,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,645,427.95. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,518,624 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZEK

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in AZEK by 80.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,311,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,431,000 after acquiring an additional 5,499,986 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AZEK by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,224,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $665,702,000 after buying an additional 3,595,863 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AZEK in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,987,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of AZEK by 493.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,681,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,827,000 after buying an additional 1,398,340 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of AZEK by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,957,094 shares of the company's stock worth $92,903,000 after acquiring an additional 823,588 shares during the last quarter. 97.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZEK Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.41 and a 200 day moving average of $47.31.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 13.47%. As a group, analysts predict that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

About AZEK

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.