Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the July 31st total of 4,570,000 shares. Currently, 10.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 535,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZTA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Azenta in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Azenta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Azenta during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Azenta during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZTA traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.89. 523,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 481,570. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -18.27 and a beta of 1.51. Azenta has a 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $69.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.52.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. Azenta had a negative net margin of 23.66% and a positive return on equity of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.14 million. Azenta’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Azenta will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Azenta from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

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.