VELA Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

VELA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,151 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 593.8% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 111 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the third quarter worth about $61,000. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALGN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Align Technology from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Align Technology in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Align Technology from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.91.

Insider Transactions at Align Technology

In related news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total value of $725,523.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Lacob sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.01, for a total transaction of $3,130,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 146,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,010,591.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total value of $725,523.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,524 shares of company stock valued at $8,403,924 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Align Technology Stock Down 0.4 %

ALGN traded down $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $303.37. 122,815 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,784. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.34 and a fifty-two week high of $413.20. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.36, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.75.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $956.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.57 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

About Align Technology

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.