Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 66.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,266 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,772 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Align Technology worth $31,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its stake in Align Technology by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 10,335 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 122.9% during the first 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 during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 3,647.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,540 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $11,982,000 after acquiring an additional 35,565 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 299,115 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,005 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Align Technology in the 1st quarter valued at $2,006,000. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. acquired 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 28,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,647,366.51. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Align Technology Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:ALGN traded up $2.88 on Friday, reaching $219.30. 1,145,141 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,594. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.02. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.34 and a 12 month high of $335.40.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $977.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.05 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Align Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $276.38.

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.