Congress Asset Management Co. Invests $42.76 Million in Azenta, Inc. $AZTA

Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,285,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,755,000. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 2.80% of Azenta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZTA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Azenta during the 1st quarter worth $435,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Azenta by 214.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,798,000 after buying an additional 232,405 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Azenta by 10.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Azenta by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 201,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after buying an additional 30,492 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Azenta by 38.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,769,000 after purchasing an additional 297,353 shares in the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azenta Trading Up 1.3%

AZTA stock opened at $20.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $941.93 million, a PE ratio of -15.15 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.68. Azenta, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.93 and a 1 year high of $41.73.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02). Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.43% and a negative net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZTA. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.33.

Azenta Profile

Azenta, Inc (NASDAQ: AZTA) is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end‐to‐end sample tracking workflows.

In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta’s Genomics business delivers next‐generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services.