Evercore Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Stock Price

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Evercore from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 56.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.33.

Azenta Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of AZTA opened at $28.72 on Thursday. Azenta has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $54.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of -21.27 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.83.

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

Azenta announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Azenta in the first quarter valued at about $435,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 214.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,798,000 after acquiring an additional 232,405 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 201,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 30,492 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 113.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Company Profile

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.