Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 483 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,881 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,634,600 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $670,031,000 after purchasing an additional 866,663 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,750,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $443,810,000 after purchasing an additional 21,605 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,831 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $310,736,000 after purchasing an additional 367,508 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,220,601 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $254,508,000 after purchasing an additional 43,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 753,026 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $191,510,000 after purchasing an additional 45,484 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Align Technology from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Align Technology from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Align Technology from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Align Technology in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Align Technology from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Align Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.91.

Align Technology Price Performance

ALGN opened at $190.43 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.67. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $186.82 and a one year high of $335.40.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology Company 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.