Short Interest in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Decreases By 7.2%

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, a drop of 7.2% from the December 31st total of 4,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 754,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days. Currently, 9.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Azenta Stock Performance

Azenta stock traded down $1.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $52.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 226,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,190. Azenta has a 1-year low of $38.82 and a 1-year high of $67.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.96 and its 200 day moving average is $49.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 1.47.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. The firm had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Azenta’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Azenta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Azenta

In other Azenta news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 712 shares of Azenta stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $28,529.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,352.44. The trade was a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,423 shares of company stock worth $57,020 in the last three months. 10.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZTA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Azenta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Azenta by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Azenta by 6.6% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Azenta by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AZTA shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Azenta Company Profile

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.