Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,700 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Azenta were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Azenta by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,917,000 after purchasing an additional 183,040 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Azenta by 72.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the third quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Azenta by 3.5% during the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total transaction of $69,669.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,074,702.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Azenta Trading Up 8.9 %

AZTA opened at $44.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.92. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 1.48. Azenta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.24 and a 12-month high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $166.14 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 0.89% and a negative net margin of 23.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AZTA. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price target 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azenta currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.40.

About Azenta

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.