Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Short Interest Down 6.9% in December

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 4,800,000 shares. Approximately 10.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 759,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZTA traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.00. 328,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,272. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.24. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.83 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta has a 52 week low of $38.82 and a 52 week high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. The business 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 company posted $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Azenta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Azenta

In other Azenta news, Director William L. Cornog purchased 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,298. The trade was a 554.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689. Insiders own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in Azenta by 72.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in Azenta during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $686,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 66.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 69,955 shares of the company's stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 27,882 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 7.8% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company's stock worth $35,844,000 after acquiring an additional 53,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Azenta during the second quarter valued at $222,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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, Stephens upgraded shares of Azenta from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.