Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN Shares Acquired by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 2,344.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 184,781 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 177,221 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $24,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Align Technology during the second quarter worth about $745,370,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Align Technology by 638.7% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 4,031,284 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in Align Technology by 3,162.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,097,745 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $278,342,000 after buying an additional 2,033,451 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Align Technology by 69,628.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,385,513 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $183,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 4.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 49,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ALGN shares. Evercore downgraded shares of Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Robert W. Baird cut Align Technology from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $218.00 to $162.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.08.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ALGN opened at $166.00 on Friday. Align Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $150.38 and its 200 day moving average is $168.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Align Technology Company Profile

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.