Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 79 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,093 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $2,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALGN. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 854.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 105 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Align Technology during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Align Technology during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Align Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Align Technology by 547.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Align Technology

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Align Technology in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.88.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Align Technology stock opened at $253.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.64. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.34 and a 52-week high of $335.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.29.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.