Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,453 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 292,798 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.42% of Align Technology worth $75,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 854.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 105 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Align Technology in the first quarter worth $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Align Technology during the second quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Align Technology during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Align Technology by 547.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Align Technology from $370.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. OTR Global restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. purchased 6,500 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $252.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $232.50 and its 200 day moving average is $264.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.64. Align Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.34 and a 52-week high of $335.40.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology 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.