Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $42.76 and last traded at $42.88, with a volume of 22377 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.40.

Azenta Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.76 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.68.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $173.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.14 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.89% and a negative net margin of 23.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Azenta

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,074,702.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Azenta by 1.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Azenta by 1.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Azenta by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Azenta by 3.5% in the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Azenta by 3.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Azenta

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.