Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $29.50 Million Stock Holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 560,708 shares of the company’s stock after selling 218,080 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Azenta were worth $29,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Azenta by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,298,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,783,000 after purchasing an additional 100,826 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Azenta by 16.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,970,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,331,000 after acquiring an additional 421,719 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Azenta by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,115,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,714,000 after acquiring an additional 56,387 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Azenta by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 625,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,746,000 after acquiring an additional 79,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,120,000 after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AZTA opened at $47.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.51 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.18 and its 200 day moving average is $53.07. Azenta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.00 and a 12-month high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.14 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 23.66% and a positive return on equity of 0.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZTA. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azenta presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.40.

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.