Franklin Resources Inc. Makes New $12.58 Million Investment in Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 94,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,581,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Astera Labs as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Astera Labs by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Astera Labs by 141.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 98,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 57,638 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Astera Labs by 173.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 698,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,593,000 after purchasing an additional 442,698 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Astera Labs during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,031,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Astera Labs in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.47% of the company’s stock.

Astera Labs Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:ALAB opened at $53.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion and a PE ratio of -31.05. Astera Labs, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.22 and a 1 year high of $147.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.87.

Astera Labs (NASDAQ:ALAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.16). Astera Labs had a negative net margin of 21.05% and a negative return on equity of 10.40%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Astera Labs, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALAB. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Astera Labs from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Northland Capmk upgraded Astera Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Astera Labs in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Astera Labs from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Astera Labs from $87.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Astera Labs currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $112.77.

Insider Transactions at Astera Labs

In related news, General Counsel Philip Mazzara sold 7,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.07, for a total transaction of $693,839.52. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 241,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,208,112.63. The trade was a 3.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Manuel Alba sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.37, for a total transaction of $3,992,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 444,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,190,968.31. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 633,990 shares of company stock worth $54,235,012 over the last three months.

Astera Labs Company Profile

Astera Labs, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure. Its Intelligent Connectivity Platform is comprised of a portfolio of data, network, and memory connectivity products, which are built on a unifying software-defined architecture that enables customers to deploy and operate high performance cloud and AI infrastructure at scale.