Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 50,869 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 50,869 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Align Technology worth $19,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALGN. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,165 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Align Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $1,882,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Align Technology by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,849 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,890,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 71,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $19,116,000 after buying an additional 29,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Align Technology

In other news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. acquired 6,500 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Trading Down 4.5 %

ALGN opened at $226.50 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.49 and a 200 day moving average of $270.80. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.34 and a 12 month high of $374.90. The company has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.66.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 11.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALGN. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. OTR Global restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Align Technology from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.88.

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.