Meridian Management Co. Raises Stock Position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Meridian Management Co. lifted its position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,665 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Align Technology accounts for about 1.0% of Meridian Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $3,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALGN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,375,147 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,746,378,000 after buying an additional 25,362 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,282 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $277,230,000 after acquiring an additional 15,540 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Align Technology by 1.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,147,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $276,950,000 after acquiring an additional 10,919 shares during the period. Bares Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Align Technology by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 819,930 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $268,871,000 after acquiring an additional 252,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in Align Technology by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 707,542 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $170,822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Align Technology from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.38.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ALGN stock opened at $225.24 on Tuesday. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $335.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.74.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $977.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.05 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 13.99%. Align Technology’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. purchased 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.