Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,237,972 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,022 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 4.90% of Azenta worth $111,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZTA. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Azenta by 305.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,446 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Azenta by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Azenta by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Azenta to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZTA traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.89. The stock had a trading volume of 213,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,840. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -9.03 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.39. Azenta, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.06 and a twelve month high of $63.58.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. Equities research analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.