Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,380,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the August 31st total of 5,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 590,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.1 days. Currently, 11.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Azenta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Azenta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Azenta during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Azenta during the 1st quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZTA. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Azenta from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Azenta Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AZTA traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $48.97. The company had a trading volume of 122,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,830. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -18.22 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.27. Azenta has a one year low of $44.00 and a one year high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $173.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.14 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 23.66% and a positive return on equity of 0.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Azenta will post 0.33 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.