Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Stock

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

AZTA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Azenta Trading Down 9.2 %

AZTA stock traded down $4.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.51. 1,126,378 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,924. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.94. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.94 and a beta of 1.47. Azenta has a one year low of $38.82 and a one year high of $67.77.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 24.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.25%. Analysts forecast that Azenta will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Azenta news, Director William L. Cornog acquired 12,500 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,298. The trade was a 554.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $28,529.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $957,352.44. The trade was a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock valued at $57,020. Company insiders own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Azenta by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the company's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 758,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,903,000 after buying an additional 18,091 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Azenta by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,684 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in 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. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,875,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.