Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

ALGN has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Align Technology from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Evercore cut Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Align Technology from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Align Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.93.

Align Technology Price Performance

ALGN opened at $154.51 on Friday. Align Technology has a twelve month low of $130.23 and a twelve month high of $200.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.51. The company has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.67.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. Align Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Align Technology will post 9.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Align Technology by 2,050.4% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,363 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,833,000 after purchasing an additional 34,672 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 3,162.7% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,097,745 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $278,342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,451 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Align Technology by 46,192.9% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,481 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 6,467 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Align Technology by 292,257.1% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 20,465 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,708,000 after buying an additional 20,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Align Technology by 2,399.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 31,022 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 29,781 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc is a global medical device company focused on digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry. Founded in 1997, the company is best known for the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners designed to gradually move teeth and treat a range of orthodontic conditions.

Align’s products and services also include digital scanning and dental practice solutions. Its iTero intraoral scanners create digital impressions for orthodontic and restorative procedures, while its exocad business develops computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing software used by dental laboratories, clinicians and other dental professionals.

The company serves orthodontists, dentists, dental laboratories and patients in numerous markets worldwide.