Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys Shares of 26,161 Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 26,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Azenta as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,577,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,894,000 after acquiring an additional 621,830 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 221,083 shares of the company's stock worth $11,054,000 after purchasing an additional 107,339 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Azenta by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 265,983 shares of the company's stock worth $13,299,000 after purchasing an additional 77,409 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Azenta by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,844,000 after buying an additional 53,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Azenta by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 149,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,469,000 after buying an additional 52,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AZTA stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 449,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,175. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of -13.74 and a beta of 1.47. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.55. Azenta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.82 and a 12-month high of $67.77.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised shares of Azenta to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.75.

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.