Leonteq Securities AG Buys New Stake in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 9,228 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank raised its position in Align Technology by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 13,656 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Align Technology by 0.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,387 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Align Technology by 73.1% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Align Technology by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 183 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Align Technology by 3.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,874 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALGN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Align Technology from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Align Technology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.85.

Align Technology Stock Down 0.2%

Align Technology stock opened at $163.04 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.00 and a 52-week high of $208.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.20.

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

Align Technology announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.