Smith Group Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,700 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 58.7% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,937,555 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $307,800,000 after acquiring an additional 716,954 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 510.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 707,514 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $112,396,000 after acquiring an additional 591,588 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 4,217.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 426,205 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,707,000 after acquiring an additional 416,333 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 94.5% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,341 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $121,055,000 after acquiring an additional 310,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 104.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 404,310 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $63,133,000 after acquiring an additional 206,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Align Technology from $246.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Align Technology from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Align Technology from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Align Technology from $154.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Align Technology from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Align Technology

In other Align Technology news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan acquired 7,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $131.49 per share, for a total transaction of $996,168.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,318,418.05. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Align Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ ALGN opened at $136.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.29 and its 200-day moving average is $162.73. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $122.00 and a one year high of $246.19.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.08). Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 11.04%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Align Technology has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Align Technology declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Align Technology Company Profile

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.