Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,911 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,014 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $372,299,000 after purchasing an additional 39,209 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,220,601 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $254,508,000 after purchasing an additional 43,524 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,082,162 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $225,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,312 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Align Technology during the fourth quarter worth $190,792,000. Finally, Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 764,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $159,470,000 after purchasing an additional 297,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC cut shares of Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $272.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.25.

Align Technology Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $184.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.60. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.74 and a 52-week high of $272.17. The firm has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.68.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.13. Align Technology had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $979.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Align Technology Company 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, 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.