Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 45,881 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 37.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,463 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,881 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Align Technology worth $26,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 5.2% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 0.8% during the first quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 9,282 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 18.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 493 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 4.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALGN. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $154.00 target price (down previously from $249.00) on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of ALGN opened at $142.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.62. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.70 and a 1 year high of $262.87.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan bought 7,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $131.49 per share, for a total transaction of $996,168.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,945 shares in the company, valued at $24,318,418.05. This represents a 4.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.