Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $3.07 Million in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,668 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Align Technology by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,946,834 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,592,819,000 after purchasing an additional 75,255 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 2,660,870 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $561,177,000 after acquiring an additional 345,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 2.2% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,583,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $527,928,000 after acquiring an additional 34,131 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,145,543 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $241,595,000 after acquiring an additional 213,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Align Technology by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,064,281 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $224,457,000 after purchasing an additional 131,006 shares during the period. 87.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Align Technology Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ ALGN traded down $4.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $320.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 38,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,029. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 79.93, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.63. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.05 and a 1-year high of $413.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $354.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.92.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.87 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 11.42%. As a group, analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ALGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Align Technology from $367.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Align Technology from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. HSBC assumed coverage on Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $450.00 target price on the stock. OTR Global raised shares of Align Technology from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.33.

Align Technology Profile

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, China, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Clear Aligner; and Imaging Systems and CAD/CAM Services (Systems and Services).