DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 134.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,641 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $9,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 934 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 180,978 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $78,911,000 after purchasing an additional 18,153 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Align Technology in the 1st quarter worth $955,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Align Technology by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,713 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Align Technology by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ALGN opened at $330.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $308.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.29. The company has a market capitalization of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 1.65. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.34 and a fifty-two week high of $413.20.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $956.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.57 million. Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 11.52%. Analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total transaction of $725,523.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total transaction of $725,523.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Lacob sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.22, for a total value of $4,548,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 131,994 shares in the company, valued at $40,023,220.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,524 shares of company stock valued at $8,403,924. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALGN. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Align Technology from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Align Technology from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Align Technology from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on Align Technology in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.45.

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.