Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Raised to Overweight at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $60.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $50.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.60.

Azenta Trading Up 7.2 %

AZTA stock traded up $3.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,745,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,918. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.72 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta has a 1 year low of $38.82 and a 1 year high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Azenta's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Azenta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In other Azenta news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total transaction of $69,669.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,074,702.72. This represents a 6.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Cornog purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Azenta during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 20.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 150.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Azenta during the second quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

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.