Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) traded down 4.2% on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $36.51 and last traded at $36.51. 514,188 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 705,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.10.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI set a $33.00 price objective on Azenta and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the third quarter valued at $362,000. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 37.9% in the third quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 57,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 15,709 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $494,000. Scopia Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Azenta during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,026,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Azenta in the third quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.69 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.57.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $159.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.76 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.35% and a negative net margin of 18.45%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.