GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Trims Stake in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lowered its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,346 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,670 shares during the period. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $3,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Align Technology by 73.1% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Align Technology by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 183 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALGN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $225.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays upgraded Align Technology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Align Technology in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, EVP John Morici sold 7,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.31, for a total transaction of $1,508,611.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $1,559,346.47. This represents a 49.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $168.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.34. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.00 and a 1-year high of $208.30. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.70.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.32. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 10.50%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Align Technology’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board 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.