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

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,780,000 shares, a growth of 31.3% from the February 13th total of 2,880,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 864,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $319,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $367,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $23,660,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 17,442 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALGN has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Align Technology from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised Align Technology from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Align Technology from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Align Technology in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Align Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.73.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of ALGN stock opened at $164.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.69. Align Technology has a one year low of $158.13 and a one year high of $335.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.81.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 13.84%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Align Technology will post 7.98 EPS for the current 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.