Sei Investments Co. Acquires 56,590 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,536 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,590 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.33% of Azenta worth $7,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in Azenta by 305.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Azenta by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Azenta during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Azenta by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $34.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average of $46.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.61 and a beta of 1.52. Azenta, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.37 and a 52 week high of $63.58.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZTA shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

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.