Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,408 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,491 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,408 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Azenta worth $7,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Azenta by 788.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Azenta in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Azenta by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Azenta in the 4th quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of AZTA stock opened at $31.91 on Wednesday. Azenta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.91 and a 12-month high of $63.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.96 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.82.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.31% and a positive return on equity of 1.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Azenta from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Azenta from $59.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.