Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 365,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,502 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Azenta were worth $23,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZTA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Azenta by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,070,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,047,000 after buying an additional 127,923 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,531,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,448,000 after acquiring an additional 38,116 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 115.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,018,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615,328 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Azenta during the 2nd quarter worth $160,068,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,995,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,535,000 after acquiring an additional 36,047 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZTA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Azenta from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Azenta from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.60.

Azenta Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AZTA stock opened at $50.65 on Monday. Azenta, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.01 and a 52 week high of $69.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of -163.38 and a beta of 1.53.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $154.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.86 million. Analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Azenta 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.