AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $57.00. The stock had previously closed at $41.39, but opened at $49.80. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. AZEK shares last traded at $48.11, with a volume of 3,461,425 shares changing hands.

AZEK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AZEK from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of AZEK in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised AZEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AZEK from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AZEK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.93.

Insider Transactions at AZEK

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 20,387 shares of AZEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.08, for a total transaction of $1,020,980.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 883,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,258,951.20. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,518,624. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AZEK. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in AZEK in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. FIL Ltd bought a new stake in AZEK in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in AZEK by 623.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in AZEK during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AZEK by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 97.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZEK Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. On average, research analysts expect that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZEK Company Profile

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.