Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $260.00. The stock had previously closed at $216.36, but opened at $227.46. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Align Technology shares last traded at $224.96, with a volume of 302,677 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ALGN. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Align Technology from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.40.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,634,600 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $670,031,000 after acquiring an additional 866,663 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Align Technology by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,750,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $443,810,000 after purchasing an additional 21,605 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Align Technology by 43.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,831 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $310,736,000 after purchasing an additional 367,508 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Align Technology by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,220,601 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $254,508,000 after purchasing an additional 43,524 shares during the period. Finally, Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 764,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,470,000 after buying an additional 297,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.15.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 13.99%. On average, equities analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.