Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 48,408 Shares of Azenta, Inc. $AZTA

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 586,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,408 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.28% of Azenta worth $16,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Azenta during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Azenta by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 151,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after buying an additional 77,869 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Azenta during the third quarter valued at approximately $285,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 7.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 473,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,594,000 after buying an additional 33,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Azenta by 2.9% during the third quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 33,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AZTA. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.33.

Azenta Trading Up 2.4%

AZTA opened at $25.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 1.39. Azenta, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.77 and a 12 month high of $45.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.67 and a 200 day moving average of $32.42.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.89 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 10.34% and a positive return on equity of 1.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Azenta Company 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.