Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) Share Price Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $168.56 and traded as low as $166.78. Align Technology shares last traded at $166.97, with a volume of 790,072 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. 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 dropped their price objective on Align Technology from $235.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Align Technology from $188.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Align Technology from $210.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Align Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.08.

Align Technology Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.56.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.03. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Align Technology by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 11,650 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Align Technology in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,656,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Align Technology by 2,551.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,634,638 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $217,332,000 after buying an additional 1,572,987 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Align Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $686,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 939.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,176,557 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,069,459,000 after acquiring an additional 48,059,533 shares during the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets digital orthodontic and restorative dentistry products. Its best-known offering is the Invisalign system, which uses a series of custom-made clear aligners to straighten teeth. The company also sells Vivera retainers and iTero intraoral scanners, which support digital dental imaging and treatment planning. Founded in 1997, Align helped popularize clear-aligner orthodontic treatment as an alternative to traditional braces. Its digital dentistry portfolio also includes exocad software, used by dental professionals and laboratories to design dental restorations.