Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Align Technology by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 100,510 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,539,000 after acquiring an additional 17,556 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 114,369 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $31,337,000 after buying an additional 45,070 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $141,140,000. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Align Technology Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $300.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $312.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.03. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.34 and a 52-week high of $413.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.69, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $956.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.57 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALGN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Align Technology from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Align Technology from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on Align Technology in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Align Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In other news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Lacob sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.01, for a total transaction of $3,130,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 146,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,010,591.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total value of $725,523.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $203,802.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,524 shares of company stock worth $8,403,924 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Align Technology Profile

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.