Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Shares Bought by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,322 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $3,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deepwater Asset Management LLC raised its position in Align Technology by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 48,981 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,421,000 after acquiring an additional 15,608 shares during the last quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 58,025 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,899,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 9.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,018,161 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $310,866,000 after buying an additional 90,581 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 80,830 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,147,000 after buying an additional 17,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 143,293 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,262,000 after buying an additional 29,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALGN. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.91.

Align Technology Trading Up 1.3 %

ALGN traded up $3.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $303.91. 156,415 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,411. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.34 and a 1 year high of $413.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $312.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.97. The firm has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $956.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.57 million. Analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, Director Joseph Lacob sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.22, for a total transaction of $4,548,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 131,994 shares in the company, valued at $40,023,220.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total value of $725,523.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $203,802.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Lacob sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.22, for a total transaction of $4,548,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 131,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,023,220.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,524 shares of company stock worth $8,403,924 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.