Park State Asset Management Purchases New Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Park State Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,424 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,000. Align Technology makes up about 3.5% of Park State Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the second quarter worth $219,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in Align Technology in the second quarter worth about $1,872,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $745,370,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Align Technology during the second quarter valued at $1,128,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Align Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at about $99,779,000. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALGN shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Align Technology in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Align Technology from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore boosted their price objective on Align Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Align Technology from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Align Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Align Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.36.

Align Technology Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of ALGN opened at $167.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.65. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.00 and a 1-year high of $200.43.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Align Technology declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.

The company’s signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.