Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Price Target Raised to $59.00

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $55.00 to $59.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of AZTA opened at $53.76 on Thursday. Azenta has a 12 month low of $38.82 and a 12 month high of $67.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.35 and its 200-day moving average is $49.07.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. Analysts expect that Azenta will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William L. Cornog acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,755 shares in the company, valued at $584,298. This trade represents a 554.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Marotta purchased 12,717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.48 per share, with a total value of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020. 10.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 111,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after buying an additional 32,032 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Azenta in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $910,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Azenta during the fourth quarter worth $1,308,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the fourth quarter worth $1,080,000. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.