Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,823 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $25,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 854.5% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 105 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Align Technology in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 547.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $252.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a PEG ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.64. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $176.34 and a one year high of $335.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.34.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. acquired 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $235.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.88.

Align Technology 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.