Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Stake Cut by Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 467,260 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,622 shares during the quarter. Align Technology accounts for 2.1% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $118,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Align Technology by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 122 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Align Technology by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,876 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 687 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALGN traded up $3.68 on Friday, hitting $219.70. 828,386 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 768,137. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.52. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $176.34 and a one year high of $335.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.64.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALGN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $280.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Align Technology from $350.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Align Technology from $315.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.25.

Insider Activity at Align Technology

In other Align Technology news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. bought 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Align Technology

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.