Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,061 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,281 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Azenta worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Azenta in the 1st quarter valued at $1,497,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 72.2% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 66.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 69,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 27,882 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Azenta in the 2nd quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in Azenta during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Marotta purchased 12,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock worth $126,689 in the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZTA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.60.

Azenta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $45.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.00. Azenta, Inc. has a one year low of $38.82 and a one year high of $69.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.56 and a beta of 1.48.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.66 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. Azenta’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.