Fisher Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,596 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Align Technology worth $27,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Align Technology by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,046 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 26.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 139.7% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Align Technology by 51.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 7.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Align Technology Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $287.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $311.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.50. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.34 and a 52-week high of $413.20. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.43, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.66.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 11.80%. The firm had revenue of $956.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.57 million. Analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In other news, Director Joseph Lacob sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.01, for a total transaction of $3,130,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 146,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,010,591.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Emory Wright sold 2,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,802.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Lacob sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.01, for a total value of $3,130,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 146,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,010,591.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,524 shares of company stock valued at $8,403,924 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALGN. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Align Technology from $197.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $333.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Align Technology from $344.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.00.

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.