Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $36.91, but opened at $32.05. Azenta shares last traded at $29.4950, with a volume of 146,670 shares.

The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.89 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.40% and a negative net margin of 10.01%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share.

Azenta declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $50.00 price objective on Azenta in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Azenta from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta in the first quarter worth $435,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Azenta by 214.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,798,000 after purchasing an additional 232,405 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 10.5% during 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% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 201,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after acquiring an additional 30,492 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Stock Down 22.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.95 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.91.

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.