Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 12,945 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 11.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 128,428 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,945 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $21,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 77.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Align Technology by 222.4% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Tobam bought a new position in Align Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Align Technology Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ALGN opened at $150.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.76. Align Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.00 and a twelve month high of $200.43. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALGN. Wall Street Zen lowered Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Align Technology from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.36.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) is a global medical device company that designs, manufactures and markets products used in orthodontics and digital dentistry. Its best-known product is the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners intended to gradually straighten teeth and address certain orthodontic conditions under the supervision of dental professionals.

The company also develops digital dentistry technologies, including iTero intraoral scanners and related software, which create digital impressions and support orthodontic, restorative and implant treatment planning.