Virtu Financial LLC Invests $352,000 in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Azenta by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Green Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Azenta by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Azenta by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 3.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $44.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.98 and a beta of 1.49. Azenta, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.82 and a 1 year high of $69.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.48.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.66 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $28,529.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,352.44. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 99,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,681.76. The trade was a 14.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 3,018 shares of company stock valued at $126,689 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.60.

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.