Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.23 and last traded at $21.28, with a volume of 69042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AZTA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore lowered their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azenta currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Azenta Stock Up 5.4%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.32 and a beta of 1.39.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Azenta by 2,067.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.