Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 888,737 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,330 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.82% of Azenta worth $43,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 150.8% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 14,880 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Azenta during the third quarter valued at $1,726,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Azenta by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,686,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,718,000 after acquiring an additional 6,398 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Azenta by 6.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 59,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in Azenta by 8.7% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 434,597 shares of the company's stock worth $21,052,000 after purchasing an additional 34,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Azenta news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,074,702.72. This represents a 6.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John Marotta bought 12,717 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares of the company's stock, 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 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AZTA. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Azenta from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.60.

Azenta Trading Up 0.4 %

Azenta stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.25. The stock had a trading volume of 180,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,186. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.82 and a 52-week high of $69.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -16.92 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $44.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.37.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. The firm had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.