Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Shares Bought by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 42.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,097 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,428 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Azenta were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Azenta by 16.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,970,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,331,000 after acquiring an additional 421,719 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,917,000 after purchasing an additional 183,040 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 1.9% during 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. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Azenta by 433.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 73,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 59,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Azenta by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after buying an additional 53,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,074,702.72. This represents a 6.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock valued at $126,689 in the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $45.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.05. Azenta, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.82 and a 1 year high of $69.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -15.21 and a beta of 1.48.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. The company had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.60.

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.