Azenta, Inc. $AZTA Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 35.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,889 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Azenta were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZTA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Azenta during the 1st quarter worth about $435,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Azenta by 214.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,798,000 after purchasing an additional 232,405 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Azenta by 10.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 17.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 201,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 30,492 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 113.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.33.

Azenta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $28.62 on Friday. Azenta, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.91 and a 1 year high of $47.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.20 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.66.

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

Azenta declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.