Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $42.76 and last traded at $42.88, with a volume of 22377 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.40.

Azenta Stock Down 4.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.76 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.68.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.89% and a negative net margin of 23.66%. The business had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.14 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,074,702.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Azenta during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Azenta in the first quarter worth $49,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta during the first quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 24.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.