Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Azenta were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Azenta in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Azenta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Azenta by 273.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Azenta by 17.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Azenta in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 99.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $53.21 on Tuesday. Azenta, Inc. has a one year low of $36.01 and a one year high of $69.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -171.64 and a beta of 1.53.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $154.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.86 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 2.92%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZTA shares. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Azenta from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.60.

About Azenta

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.