Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.23 and last traded at $21.28, with a volume of 69042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore lowered their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Azenta Trading Down 3.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $955.88 million, a P/E ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.07.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $148.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.89 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.43% and a negative net margin of 10.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azenta declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Azenta during the first quarter worth approximately $435,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 214.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,798,000 after buying an additional 232,405 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Azenta by 10.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Azenta by 17.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 201,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after buying an additional 30,492 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Azenta by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 367,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,533 shares during the last quarter. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc (NASDAQ: AZTA) is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end‐to‐end sample tracking workflows.

In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta’s Genomics business delivers next‐generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services.