AGF Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,986 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 49.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,634,600 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $670,031,000 after purchasing an additional 866,663 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,750,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $443,810,000 after purchasing an additional 21,605 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 43.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,831 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $310,736,000 after purchasing an additional 367,508 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,220,601 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $254,508,000 after purchasing an additional 43,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 764,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,470,000 after purchasing an additional 297,472 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALGN. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Align Technology from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $272.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $295.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Align Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.91.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ALGN stock opened at $166.20 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $158.13 and a one year high of $335.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.54%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.