Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Trading Down 9.4% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) traded down 9.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.41 and last traded at $42.63. 407,093 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 493,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Azenta to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.75.

Azenta Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.80 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.61.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 6.6% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 305.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.