Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 48,772 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 66.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,266 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,772 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $31,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Align Technology during the third quarter valued at $92,490,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 3.4% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 8,723 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,329 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Align Technology by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 8,143 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Align Technology from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Align Technology in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.38.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of ALGN stock opened at $219.30 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.34 and a 1-year high of $335.40. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.72.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Align Technology had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $977.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Align Technology’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. bought 6,500 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $235.33 per share, with a total value of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,647,366.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Align Technology

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.