Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Board Declares Share Repurchase Program

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALGN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $272.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Align Technology from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.25.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of Align Technology stock opened at $173.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.42. The stock has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.68. Align Technology has a 1 year low of $141.74 and a 1 year high of $291.80.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.13. Align Technology had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $979.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Align Technology will post 7.98 EPS for the current 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.