Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA – Get Rating) was the beneficiary of a sharp drop in short-term interest rates during September. As of September 30, there was short interest totaling 3,440,000 shares, down 10.9% from the September 15 total of 3,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume of 709,500 shares, the short interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.
Azenta Price Performance
Shares of AZTA traded down $1.99 during Friday’s midday session, hitting $38.94. The stock had a trading volume of 918,492 shares, compared to an average volume of 903,290. Azenta has a fifty-two-week low of $37.61 and a fifty-two-week high of $124.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.68.
Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA – Get Rating) last reported results on Tuesday, August 9. The company reported EPS of $0.12 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.04. Azenta had a net margin of 391.34% and a return on equity of 1.47%. The company posted revenue of $132.74 million in the quarter, compared to $132.70 million expected by analysts. In the same quarter last year, the company achieved EPS of $0.72. The company’s revenue increased 2.8% year over year. On average, analysts expect Azenta to post an EPS of 0.41 for the current year.
Insider activity in Azenta
In related news, COO Matthew Mcmanus purchased 8,625 shares of the company in a trade that took place on Friday, August 19. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.15 per share, with a total value of $501,543.75. As a result of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,467 shares of the company, valued at approximately $1,713,506.05. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC’s website. In related news, COO Matthew Mcmanus purchased 8,625 shares of the company in a trade that took place on Friday, August 19. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.15 per share, with a total value of $501,543.75. As a result of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,467 shares of the company, valued at approximately $1,713,506.05. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC’s website. Additionally, Chief Financial Officer Lindon G. Robertson acquired 4,350 shares in a trade on Friday, August 19. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.62 per share, for a total transaction of $250,647.00. Following completion of the transaction, the CFO now directly owns 100,571 shares of the company, valued at approximately $5,794,901.02. Disclosure of this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.62% of the shares of the company.
Azenta Institutional Trading
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,687,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta in the second quarter valued at approximately $232,008,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new equity stake in Azenta in the second quarter valued at approximately $221,422,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta in the second quarter valued at approximately $160,068,000. Finally, State Street Corp acquired a new position in Azenta during the second quarter worth approximately $141,290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.43% of the company’s shares.
Analysts set new price targets
Several research analysts have published reports on AZTA shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered its price target on Azenta shares from $94.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a Wednesday, August 10 research report. Evercore ISI lowered its price target on Azenta shares to $68.00 in a Monday, August 15 research report. TheStreet upgraded Azenta’s shares from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a Thursday, September 1 research note. Finally, B. Riley reduced his price target on Azenta shares from $94.00 to $82.00 in a Thursday, July 14 research note.
About Azenta
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Azenta, Inc provides life science sample management and exploration solutions for the life science market in North America, Europe, China, Asia-Pacific and internationally. The Company operates through two reportable segments, Life Science Products and Life Science Services. The Life Science Products segment offers automated cold sample management systems for the storage of compound and biological samples; equipment for sample preparation and handling; consumables; and instruments that help customers manage samples throughout their research, discovery and development workflows.
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