Short Interest in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) Declines By 9.8%

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the October 15th total of 4,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 552,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.9 days. Approximately 9.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Azenta

In other Azenta news, CFO Herman Cueto sold 1,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $69,669.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,074,702.72. The trade was a 6.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Azenta by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 4,144 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Azenta by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Azenta by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Azenta by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 74,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azenta by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of AZTA stock traded down $1.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.51. The company had a trading volume of 525,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,385. Azenta has a one year low of $40.24 and a one year high of $69.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.44.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $170.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 25.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.03%. Azenta’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Azenta will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZTA shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azenta has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.60.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.