Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Buys Shares of 128,197 Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 128,197 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $745,370,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Align Technology by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,643,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $725,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,848 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. purchased a new position in Align Technology in the fourth quarter worth $190,899,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Align Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $155,556,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Align Technology by 413.0% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,388 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $169,611,000 after purchasing an additional 796,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Stock Down 0.8%

Align Technology stock opened at $157.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.15. Align Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.00 and a twelve month high of $200.43.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. Align Technology had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Align Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Align Technology from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.36.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company’s signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.