Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZTA shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday, December 22nd.

Azenta Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of AZTA stock opened at $26.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.99 and a beta of 1.39. Azenta has a 1 year low of $23.91 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.55.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $148.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.89 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.34% and a positive return on equity of 1.43%. Azenta’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Azenta will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Azenta by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Azenta by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Azenta by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Azenta by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.