Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Trading Down 5.6% – Should You Sell?

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares were down 5.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $51.37 and last traded at $51.02. Approximately 143,586 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 434,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Azenta Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of -17.39 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.49 and a 200-day moving average of $49.10.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020 in the last ninety days. 10.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Azenta by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,577,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,894,000 after acquiring an additional 621,830 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Azenta by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,917,000 after purchasing an additional 183,040 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 221,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,054,000 after acquiring an additional 107,339 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Azenta by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 265,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,299,000 after purchasing an additional 77,409 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after buying an additional 53,584 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Company Profile

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.