Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Issues Earnings Results

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.43% and a negative net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $148.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Azenta’s conference call:

• Reaffirmed full‑year guidance — management reiterated fiscal 2026 targets of 3%–5% organic revenue growth and ~300 bps adjusted EBITDA expansion, expecting acceleration in the second half as approvals and capital spending recover.
• Strong balance sheet and capital actions — $571M in cash and no debt, a $250M share repurchase authorization, and the pending sale of B Medical (expected by Mar 31) to sharpen focus and enhance flexibility.
• Operational transformation underway — continued deployment of the Azenta Business System, Kaizen routines, decentralized operating model, and targeted growth investments (biorepositories, regionalized gene synthesis, automation) intended to drive efficiency and margin expansion.
• Quarterly financial pressures — Q1 revenue $149M (down ~1% organic), non‑GAAP EPS $0.09, gross margin fell to 44.1% (‑360 bps) and adjusted EBITDA margin was 8.5% (‑230 bps), reflecting underutilized lab capacity and mix headwinds.
• Operational and market headwinds — Automated Stores quality issues (18 stores) drove a $3M–$5M FY hit (remediation expected by end of Q2), Sanger sequencing weakness and slower North America bookings (including government shutdown timing) weighed on near‑term performance.

Azenta Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Azenta stock opened at $27.85 on Friday. Azenta has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $55.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.31 and a 200 day moving average of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.63 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Azenta by 1.8% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 79,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Azenta by 19.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZTA. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Trending Headlines about Azenta

Here are the key news stories impacting Azenta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to express upside: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and a $44 price target (implies ~58% upside from current levels). Needham Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore kept an “outperform” rating and a $45 target despite trimming its prior $50 target — the new target still implies substantial upside from current prices. Evercore Note
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target from $42 to $40 but maintained a “buy” rating, signaling continued analyst conviction despite a more cautious near-term view. Jefferies Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue slightly beat estimates: Q1 revenue was $148.64M vs. consensus $146.89M, and revenue grew ~0.8% YoY — a modest top-line positive but not strong enough to offset margin/earnings weakness. Q1 Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its Q1 results press release, slide deck and the earnings-call materials — useful for assessing forward commentary and segment trends. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and the presentation are available for deeper detail on guidance, order trends and cost actions — important for investors evaluating whether margin pressure is temporary. Earnings Call Transcript Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed consensus: reported $0.09 vs. $0.11 expected — the miss and a negative net margin (~-10%) are the primary near-term negative drivers weighing on the stock. Earnings Summary

Azenta Company Profile

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.