Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.3333.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore decreased their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Azenta during the fourth quarter worth $187,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Azenta by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the 4th quarter worth about $755,000. Front Street Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 285,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,487,000 after purchasing an additional 35,270 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 298.8% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 68,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 51,368 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ AZTA opened at $26.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.99 and a beta of 1.39. Azenta has a twelve month low of $23.91 and a twelve month high of $45.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day moving average is $32.55.

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

Azenta declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.