Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.40%. The firm had revenue of $148.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Azenta’s conference call:

• Reaffirmed full‑year guidance — management reiterated fiscal 2026 targets of 3%–5% organic revenue growth and ~300 bps adjusted EBITDA expansion, expecting acceleration in the second half as approvals and capital spending recover.
• Strong balance sheet and capital actions — $571M in cash and no debt, a $250M share repurchase authorization, and the pending sale of B Medical (expected by Mar 31) to sharpen focus and enhance flexibility.
• Operational transformation underway — continued deployment of the Azenta Business System, Kaizen routines, decentralized operating model, and targeted growth investments (biorepositories, regionalized gene synthesis, automation) intended to drive efficiency and margin expansion.
• Quarterly financial pressures — Q1 revenue $149M (down ~1% organic), non‑GAAP EPS $0.09, gross margin fell to 44.1% (‑360 bps) and adjusted EBITDA margin was 8.5% (‑230 bps), reflecting underutilized lab capacity and mix headwinds.
• Operational and market headwinds — Automated Stores quality issues (18 stores) drove a $3M–$5M FY hit (remediation expected by end of Q2), Sanger sequencing weakness and slower North America bookings (including government shutdown timing) weighed on near‑term performance.

Azenta Stock Down 20.9%

Shares of Azenta stock traded down $7.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 97,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 585,727. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.91. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.41 and a beta of 1.35. Azenta has a 1-year low of $23.91 and a 1-year high of $55.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Azenta in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in Azenta by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 57,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 15,709 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Azenta during the 3rd quarter worth about $494,000. Scopia Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Azenta in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,026,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Azenta during the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.83.

Azenta announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Azenta Company Profile

Azenta, Inc (NASDAQ: AZTA) is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end‐to‐end sample tracking workflows.

In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta’s Genomics business delivers next‐generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services.