Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,725 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Align Technology by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 273,664 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $56,870,000 after purchasing an additional 9,139 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Align Technology by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 169,641 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $35,368,000 after buying an additional 92,407 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Align Technology by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 105,770 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $26,900,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Align Technology by 25.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 40,826 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,383,000 after acquiring an additional 8,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braidwell LP raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 13.3% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 311,679 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $79,266,000 after acquiring an additional 36,472 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALGN. Leerink Partners raised shares of Align Technology from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Align Technology from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Align Technology in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.64.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $166.46 on Thursday. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.13 and a 1 year high of $331.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $196.12 and its 200 day moving average is $215.43.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.54%. Research analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.