Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Position in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 365,506 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,502 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.66% of Azenta worth $23,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Azenta by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,070,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,047,000 after buying an additional 127,923 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,531,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,448,000 after purchasing an additional 38,116 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Azenta by 115.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,018,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,328 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. bought a new position in Azenta in the second quarter worth approximately $160,068,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Azenta by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,995,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,535,000 after purchasing an additional 36,047 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Performance

AZTA stock opened at $50.65 on Monday. Azenta, Inc. has a one year low of $36.01 and a one year high of $69.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -163.38 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.05.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $154.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.86 million. Azenta had a negative net margin of 2.92% and a positive return on equity of 0.49%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZTA. B. Riley upped their target price on Azenta from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Azenta in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Azenta from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.60.

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.