Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,809 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Azenta worth $5,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Azenta by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,970,964 shares of the company's stock worth $156,331,000 after purchasing an additional 421,719 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Azenta by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,917,000 after buying an additional 183,040 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 1.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,298,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,783,000 after buying an additional 100,826 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Azenta by 433.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 73,055 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 59,364 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Azenta by 7.8% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company's stock worth $35,844,000 after acquiring an additional 53,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company's stock.

Azenta Trading Up 0.1 %

AZTA stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.04. The stock had a trading volume of 315,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,272. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.82 and a 1-year high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. The business had revenue of $170.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZTA shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.48 per share, with a total value of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. This represents a 14.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,074,702.72. This represents a 6.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689. 10.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.