Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 621,830 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,577,881 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 621,830 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 3.45% of Azenta worth $78,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the second quarter worth about $266,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Azenta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Azenta by 3.2% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 3.5% in 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. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta in the third quarter worth $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AZTA shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Azenta Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ AZTA traded up $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $54.04. The company had a trading volume of 550,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,275. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of -18.20 and a beta of 1.47. Azenta, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.82 and a 12 month high of $67.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.10.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. On average, research analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $957,352.44. This trade represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Marotta bought 12,717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,423 shares of company stock valued at $57,020 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Azenta 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.