MML Investors Services LLC Sells 315 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Azenta were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Azenta by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 31,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the third quarter worth $686,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Azenta by 66.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 69,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 27,882 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Azenta by 7.8% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after acquiring an additional 53,584 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Azenta in the second quarter worth about $222,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Azenta from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Azenta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $50.25 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.92 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.82 and a 1-year high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Azenta

In related news, Director William L. Cornog acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,298. This trade represents a 554.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,074,702.72. This trade represents a 6.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,018 shares of company stock valued at $126,689. 10.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.