Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,216 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $3,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 2.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Align Technology by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Align Technology by 8.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 687 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 6.6% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ALGN shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Leerink Partners raised Align Technology from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.20.

Align Technology Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $218.91 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.09 and a twelve month high of $335.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.44. The company has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.67.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $990.05 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.