Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Stock Price Down 4.9%

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)’s stock price dropped 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $51.52 and last traded at $51.65. Approximately 234,407 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 467,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZTA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Azenta from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Azenta Stock Down 6.9 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of -18.65 and a beta of 1.51.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. Azenta had a negative net margin of 23.12% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Azenta by 1.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,298,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,783,000 after buying an additional 100,826 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Azenta by 73.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,993,000 after acquiring an additional 48,194 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the second quarter worth approximately $276,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 150.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the second quarter worth approximately $609,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.