PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Azenta, Inc. $AZTA

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 62.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,610 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Azenta were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Azenta by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Azenta by 41.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Azenta by 113.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Azenta by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azenta Stock Down 4.8%

AZTA opened at $36.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.53. Azenta, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $55.63. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.99 and a beta of 1.65.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $159.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.76 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 18.45% and a positive return on equity of 1.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZTA. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Azenta from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Azenta in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Azenta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI set a $33.00 target price on shares of Azenta and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Azenta from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.60.

Azenta Profile

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.