Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN Shares Acquired by Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.

Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,961 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $2,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALGN. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 88.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,050,373 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $381,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,393 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Align Technology in the third quarter valued at $179,035,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Align Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $155,556,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 72.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,353,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $169,438,000 after acquiring an additional 566,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 35,513.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 545,604 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,196,000 after acquiring an additional 544,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $167.74 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.00 and a 1 year high of $208.30. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.22.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 10.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical equipment provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALGN. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Align Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Align Technology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.85.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company’s signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.