Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at Evercore ISI

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) had its target price reduced by Evercore ISI from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azenta presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Azenta Stock Down 2.2%

AZTA opened at $27.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.63 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.31 and a 200-day moving average of $32.85. Azenta has a 12-month low of $23.91 and a 12-month high of $55.63.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.89 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.34% and a positive return on equity of 1.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Azenta will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Azenta by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Azenta by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Azenta in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Azenta by 113.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Azenta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to express upside: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and a $44 price target (implies ~58% upside from current levels). Needham Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore kept an “outperform” rating and a $45 target despite trimming its prior $50 target — the new target still implies substantial upside from current prices. Evercore Note
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target from $42 to $40 but maintained a “buy” rating, signaling continued analyst conviction despite a more cautious near-term view. Jefferies Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue slightly beat estimates: Q1 revenue was $148.64M vs. consensus $146.89M, and revenue grew ~0.8% YoY — a modest top-line positive but not strong enough to offset margin/earnings weakness. Q1 Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its Q1 results press release, slide deck and the earnings-call materials — useful for assessing forward commentary and segment trends. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and the presentation are available for deeper detail on guidance, order trends and cost actions — important for investors evaluating whether margin pressure is temporary. Earnings Call Transcript Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed consensus: reported $0.09 vs. $0.11 expected — the miss and a negative net margin (~-10%) are the primary near-term negative drivers weighing on the stock. Earnings Summary

About Azenta

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.