Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, a decrease of 15.7% from the November 15th total of 3,000,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 785,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Align Technology during the first quarter valued at about $337,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 339.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 73,494 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $17,744,000 after purchasing an additional 56,764 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Align Technology by 150.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 133 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Align Technology by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Align Technology by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,147,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $276,950,000 after acquiring an additional 10,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Align Technology stock opened at $235.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.17. The company has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.66. Align Technology has a fifty-two week low of $196.09 and a fifty-two week high of $335.40.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $977.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.05 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Align Technology will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.20.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.