Marathon Asset Management Ltd Sells 14,734 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,586 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,734 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned 0.25% of Align Technology worth $27,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment House LLC grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 82,117 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $12,823,000 after acquiring an additional 31,117 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,035 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 23,693 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,993 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,047 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. bought a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the 4th quarter worth $254,000. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Align Technology from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Align Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.85.

Align Technology Stock Performance

ALGN opened at $155.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $174.54 and a 200 day moving average of $166.85. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.00 and a fifty-two week high of $208.30.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company’s signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.