Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ALGN. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday. Evercore lowered Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Align Technology from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.14.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN traded down $2.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $147.31. The stock had a trading volume of 952,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,319. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.18. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.67. Align Technology has a twelve month low of $128.67 and a twelve month high of $200.43.

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

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Align Technology by 638.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,662,437 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $629,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031,284 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Align Technology in the second quarter worth $745,370,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 69,628.9% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,385,513 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $183,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,526 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted 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 purchasing an additional 49,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 21.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 972,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $166,696,000 after purchasing an additional 170,523 shares in 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.