Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 99,090 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 96.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,572 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 99,090 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Align Technology were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALGN. ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 3.6% in the second quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Align Technology by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,282 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $277,230,000 after purchasing an additional 15,540 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter worth about $294,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 86.8% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 23,269 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 21.8% during the second quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 8,055 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,945,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. acquired 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $235.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALGN shares. OTR Global reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Align Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $306.88.

Align Technology Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of ALGN stock traded down $10.72 on Tuesday, reaching $226.50. The stock had a trading volume of 508,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,932. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.34 and a 12 month high of $374.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.66. The firm's 50-day moving average is $234.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.80.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 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.