Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Downgraded by Robert W. Baird to Hold

Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore lowered Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.14.

Align Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $149.34 on Thursday. Align Technology has a one year low of $128.65 and a one year high of $200.43. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.32.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Align Technology will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Align Technology by 638.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,662,437 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $629,469,000 after buying an additional 4,031,284 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the second quarter worth about $745,370,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 4.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,054,633 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $180,796,000 after acquiring an additional 49,220 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 972,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $166,696,000 after acquiring an additional 170,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 754,797 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $129,395,000 after acquiring an additional 59,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc is a medical device and digital technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products used in orthodontics and restorative dentistry. The company is best known for Invisalign clear aligners, which are custom-made orthodontic devices intended to gradually move patients’ teeth under the supervision of dental professionals.

Align also develops the iTero family of intraoral scanners and related digital imaging systems, which help dental professionals create digital impressions and treatment plans.