Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Position Reduced by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,237,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,022 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Azenta were worth $111,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Azenta by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,033,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,659,000 after buying an additional 26,929 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Azenta by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,577,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,894,000 after acquiring an additional 621,830 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,405,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,183,000 after purchasing an additional 447,292 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,922,000 after purchasing an additional 18,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 762,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,109,000 after purchasing an additional 302,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZTA. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Azenta to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Azenta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $25.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.97. Azenta, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.68 and a 52 week high of $63.58. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -8.47 and a beta of 1.66.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, equities analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Azenta Company Profile

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.