Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Has $34.78 Million Stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 695,611 shares of the company's stock after selling 102,633 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 1.52% of Azenta worth $34,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Azenta by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Azenta by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 11,379 shares of the company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $28,529.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,352.44. The trade was a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Cornog purchased 12,500 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,298. The trade was a 554.32 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020. Insiders own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AZTA. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZTA traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.32. The company had a trading volume of 437,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,378. Azenta, Inc. has a one year low of $38.82 and a one year high of $67.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.21 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.74.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

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.