Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Makes New $924,000 Investment in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Azenta by 305.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Azenta by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Azenta during the 4th quarter valued at about $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Azenta Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $37.43 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.70 and its 200 day moving average is $46.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.56 and a beta of 1.52. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $63.58.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZTA. TD Cowen upgraded Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azenta presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

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.