Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $41.22, but opened at $42.42. Azenta shares last traded at $43.56, with a volume of 22,283 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azenta presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.40.

Azenta Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -16.43 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.85.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.09. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.89% and a negative net margin of 23.66%. The firm had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Azenta news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,074,702.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Azenta in the third quarter worth about $214,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 236.7% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 199.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 15,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 10,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.