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

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the May 31st total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 729,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of Align Technology stock opened at $241.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.70. Align Technology has a 52-week low of $176.34 and a 52-week high of $413.20.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $997.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $971.97 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Analysts predict that Align Technology will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $344.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $375.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Align Technology by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 396,603 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $108,669,000 after buying an additional 40,406 shares during the period. Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 48,981 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,421,000 after purchasing an additional 15,608 shares during the last quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 58,025 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $15,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,018,161 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $310,866,000 after purchasing an additional 90,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,165 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

About Align Technology

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.