Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 107,339 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 94.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,339 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Azenta worth $11,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,686,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,718,000 after acquiring an additional 6,398 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,577,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,894,000 after acquiring an additional 621,830 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,922,000 after acquiring an additional 18,529 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 739,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,844,000 after acquiring an additional 53,584 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 434,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,052,000 after acquiring an additional 34,849 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Azenta stock opened at $43.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.64 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.75. Azenta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.82 and a 12-month high of $67.77.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Azenta Company Profile

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.