Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN Shares Sold by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 57.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 59,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 80,965 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $10,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,643,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $725,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,848 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 37.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,497,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $187,521,000 after buying an additional 407,559 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Align Technology by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,490,503 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $232,742,000 after purchasing an additional 173,641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 72.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,353,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $169,438,000 after buying an additional 566,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $190,899,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALGN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Align Technology from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.36.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of Align Technology stock opened at $168.24 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.07. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.00 and a 12 month high of $208.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 10.50%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company’s signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.