Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 198,445 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 4,594.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 202,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 198,445 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $26,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALGN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the second quarter valued at about $745,370,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Align Technology by 638.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,662,437 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $629,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031,284 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Align Technology by 69,628.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Align Technology by 4.9% in the first 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 grew its stake in Align Technology by 21.3% in the first 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 own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Align Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ ALGN traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $154.51. 911,574 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,763. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.67. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.43.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.02. Align Technology had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.99%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ALGN shares. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Align Technology from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Align Technology from $235.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Align Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.93.

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.