Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the October 15th total of 2,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 961,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.
Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology
In other news, Director Warren S. Thaler bought 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $191.21 per share, for a total transaction of $200,770.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 30,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,863,645.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan purchased 10,600 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $188.58 per share, for a total transaction of $1,998,948.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 185,401 shares in the company, valued at $34,962,920.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren S. Thaler purchased 1,050 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $191.21 per share, with a total value of $200,770.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,863,645.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Align Technology
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALGN. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,373,398 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,778,802,000 after acquiring an additional 630,238 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Align Technology by 3,884.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 474,245 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $206,771,000 after purchasing an additional 462,342 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Align Technology by 56,573.8% during the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 426,754 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $101,000,000 after purchasing an additional 426,001 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Align Technology by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,137 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $783,989,000 after purchasing an additional 336,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bares Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Align Technology by 68.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 690,233 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $163,357,000 after purchasing an additional 279,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.50% of the company’s stock.
Align Technology Stock Up 11.5 %
Shares of ALGN stock opened at $218.98 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $215.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.51. Align Technology has a 12-month low of $172.05 and a 12-month high of $698.81. The firm has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 26.12 and a beta of 1.68.
Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.58). Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $890.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Align Technology will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Align Technology in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Align Technology from $325.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Align Technology from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Align Technology from $310.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Align Technology from $300.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Align Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.00.
About Align Technology
Align Technology, Inc, a medical device company, designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists, and restorative and aesthetic dentistry. It operates in two segments, Clear Aligner; and Scanners and Services.