Caxton Associates LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Caxton Associates LLP lessened its position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 96.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,271 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 133,639 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,643,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,848 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $190,899,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $155,556,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Align Technology by 413.0% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,388 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $169,611,000 after buying an additional 796,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 247.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,005,413 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $156,995,000 after acquiring an additional 715,919 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ALGN. Zacks Research lowered Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Align Technology from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Align Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.36.

Align Technology Stock Down 0.0%

ALGN stock opened at $167.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.67. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.00 and a 52-week high of $208.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.11.

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

Align Technology declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.