Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 375,627 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,545 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.82% of Azenta worth $18,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised 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. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Azenta by 150.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in Azenta during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Azenta during the second quarter worth about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.16. 301,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 394,539. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.24 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.09. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.82 and a 52-week high of $67.86.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.66 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AZTA shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John Marotta purchased 12,717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. This represents a 14.63 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Cornog purchased 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,298. This trade represents a 554.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020. 10.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.