Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.23 and last traded at $21.28, with a volume of 69042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore lowered their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Azenta Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $955.88 million, a PE ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.07.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $148.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.89 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.43% and a negative net margin of 10.34%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Azenta by 2,067.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Azenta by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Azenta by 249.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Azenta by 141.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.