Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Sells 102,633 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lowered its position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 695,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,633 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Azenta were worth $34,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Azenta by 20.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Azenta by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Azenta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in Azenta in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Azenta

In other Azenta news, Director William L. Cornog purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,755 shares in the company, valued at $584,298. This trade represents a 554.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.48 per share, with a total value of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. This represents a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020. 10.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Azenta Stock Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ AZTA opened at $52.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.61 and its 200 day moving average is $49.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -17.56 and a beta of 1.47. Azenta, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.82 and a twelve month high of $67.77.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a negative net margin of 24.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.25%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Azenta Company 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.