Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Azenta were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,298,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,917,000 after acquiring an additional 183,040 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 433.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 73,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 59,364 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Azenta by 7.8% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after purchasing an additional 53,584 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Azenta by 73.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,993,000 after buying an additional 48,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the third quarter worth about $1,979,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Price Performance

AZTA stock opened at $54.16 on Monday. Azenta, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.82 and a 1-year high of $67.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.24 and a beta of 1.47.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. Azenta’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Azenta

In other Azenta news, CEO John Marotta purchased 12,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.48 per share, with a total value of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. This trade represents a 14.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Cornog acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,298. This represents a 554.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock valued at $57,020 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Azenta Company Profile

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.