Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 70,500 Shares of Azenta, Inc. $AZTA

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 700,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,500 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Azenta were worth $21,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,345,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,725,000 after purchasing an additional 350,930 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Azenta in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,604,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Azenta by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,769,000 after purchasing an additional 297,353 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 214.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,798,000 after buying an additional 232,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 65.6% during the second quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 530,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,314,000 after buying an additional 209,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Stock Performance

Azenta stock opened at $35.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.38 and a beta of 1.29. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $55.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.05.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.40%. The company had revenue of $159.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AZTA shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Azenta from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Azenta currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.60.

Azenta 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.