Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Azenta were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Azenta by 1.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Azenta by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Azenta by 9.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $49.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of -18.20 and a beta of 1.51. Azenta, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $173.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.14 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 23.12% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.