Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.79 and last traded at $17.14, with a volume of 77188 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZTA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Azenta from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Azenta from $44.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Azenta Trading Down 2.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $784.94 million, a PE ratio of -4.30 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.77.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.16). Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.23% and a negative net margin of 30.49%.The firm had revenue of $144.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Azenta by 2,067.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 802 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Azenta by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Azenta by 249.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 44.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 98.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by 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.