North Growth Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

North Growth Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $6,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 49.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,634,600 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $670,031,000 after purchasing an additional 866,663 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Align Technology during the third quarter worth about $137,287,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Align Technology by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,831 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $310,736,000 after acquiring an additional 367,508 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 96.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 674,319 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $171,493,000 after acquiring an additional 330,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 459,243 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $116,795,000 after acquiring an additional 198,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Align Technology from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Align Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Align Technology from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Align Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.40.

Align Technology Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of Align Technology stock opened at $210.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.83. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.09 and a 12-month high of $335.40.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 13.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 8.09 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.