Legal & General Group Plc Sells 119,396 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 233,576 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 119,396 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $36,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 88.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,050,373 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $381,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,393 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the third quarter worth approximately $179,035,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 72.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,353,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $169,438,000 after purchasing an additional 566,488 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 35,513.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 545,604 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $85,196,000 after purchasing an additional 544,072 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Align Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,626,000. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALGN. Mizuho increased their price target on Align Technology from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Align Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Align Technology from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Align Technology from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Align Technology from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.85.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $174.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.29. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.70. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.00 and a 1 year high of $208.30.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 10.50%.The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical equipment provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Align Technology Profile

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.