Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $344.00 to $360.00. The stock had previously closed at $313.78, but opened at $325.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Align Technology shares last traded at $301.46, with a volume of 543,779 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ALGN. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $355.00) on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Align Technology in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Align Technology from $333.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Align Technology news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total value of $725,523.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.45, for a total transaction of $725,523.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Lacob sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.22, for a total value of $4,548,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 131,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,023,220.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,524 shares of company stock valued at $8,403,924 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Align Technology by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Align Technology by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,441 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Align Technology by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 30,319 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Align Technology by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,348 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,876,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Align Technology by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 9,281 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $313.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.98. The stock has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $956.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.57 million. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 11.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Align Technology

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, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.