Short Interest in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Increases By 21.2%

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,072,280 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the January 29th total of 4,184,344 shares. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,202,306 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,202,306 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,755,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Azenta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,803,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Azenta by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,698,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,783,000 after purchasing an additional 499,216 shares during the period. Scopia Capital Management LP bought a new position in Azenta in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,026,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Azenta by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 713,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,975,000 after purchasing an additional 469,447 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AZTA. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azenta currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Azenta Trading Up 2.4%

AZTA opened at $25.13 on Thursday. Azenta has a 12 month low of $23.77 and a 12 month high of $45.26. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.67 and a 200 day moving average of $32.42.

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

Azenta announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Azenta

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.