Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a drop of 9.8% from the October 15th total of 4,810,000 shares. Approximately 9.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 552,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Insider Activity at Azenta

In related news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,074,702.72. This trade represents a 6.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 3.5% during the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 6.6% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,156 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Azenta by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,981 shares of the company's stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AZTA shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.60.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of AZTA traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.51. The stock had a trading volume of 525,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,385. The company's 50-day moving average is $45.56 and its 200 day moving average is $50.44. Azenta has a 12-month low of $40.24 and a 12-month high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. Azenta's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Azenta will post 0.4 earnings per share 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.