Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.93 and last traded at $16.24, with a volume of 2277305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Azenta from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Azenta from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Azenta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Azenta from $44.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Azenta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Azenta Trading Up 5.2%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.17. The stock has a market cap of $855.89 million, a P/E ratio of -4.69 and a beta of 1.43.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.16). Azenta had a negative net margin of 30.49% and a positive return on equity of 1.23%. The business had revenue of $144.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azenta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZTA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 2,067.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Azenta in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.08% of the company’s stock.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc (NASDAQ: AZTA) is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end?to?end sample tracking workflows.

In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta’s Genomics business delivers next?generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services.