Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Azenta were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Azenta by 305.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Azenta by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Azenta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Azenta by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $293,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $35.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.92 and a beta of 1.52. Azenta, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.06 and a 12 month high of $63.58.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZTA. TD Cowen raised Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.75.

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.