Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Stock Rating Lowered by Robert W. Baird

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) was downgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $162.00 target price on the medical equipment provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $218.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price target for the company. Evercore downgraded shares of Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research lowered Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Align Technology from $210.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on Align Technology from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.14.

Align Technology Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:ALGN traded up $1.69 on Thursday, reaching $149.00. 771,583 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,061,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.67. Align Technology has a 52-week low of $130.23 and a 52-week high of $200.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $154.01 and a 200-day moving average of $167.19.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Align Technology will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALGN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Align Technology by 638.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,662,437 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $629,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031,284 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Align Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $745,370,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 69,628.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,385,513 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $183,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,526 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,054,633 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $180,796,000 after purchasing an additional 49,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 972,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $166,696,000 after purchasing an additional 170,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc is a global medical device company focused on digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry. Founded in 1997, the company is best known for the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners designed to gradually move teeth and treat a range of orthodontic conditions.

Align’s products and services also include digital scanning and dental practice solutions. Its iTero intraoral scanners create digital impressions for orthodontic and restorative procedures, while its exocad business develops computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing software used by dental laboratories, clinicians and other dental professionals.

The company serves orthodontists, dentists, dental laboratories and patients in numerous markets worldwide.