Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Short Interest Update

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the July 15th total of 2,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 860,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Align Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 396,603 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $108,669,000 after buying an additional 40,406 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,165 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,059,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,197,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 3,647.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,540 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $11,982,000 after buying an additional 35,565 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALGN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Align Technology currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $322.78.

Align Technology Price Performance

ALGN traded up $5.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,028,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,120. Align Technology has a 1-year low of $176.34 and a 1-year high of $375.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $238.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.71.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Align Technology will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.