Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,369 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Align Technology by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 14,597 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,474,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $944,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Align Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,144,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Align Technology by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,353 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $62,698,000 after buying an additional 54,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in Align Technology by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 7,516 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,295,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $242.20 on Thursday. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.34 and a 1 year high of $413.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.62.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.08. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $997.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $971.97 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALGN. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Align Technology from $333.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Align Technology from $344.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Align Technology from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.00.

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.